The Unstuck Man
by Michael2
Summary: Colin gets separated from his friends, thus leading to his Season Five travels
1. Separated

Heavy breathing.   
  
That is what I remember,heavy breathing.   
  
And the sound of gunshots.   
  
It was dark,the only lights coming from street lamps. We were in small  
  
town on the Pacific Coast north of Monterrey,California. A couple of  
  
people were shooting at us. My brother and I,armed with nine-millimeter  
  
Beretta pistols,were fiuring at our pursuers to cover for Remmy as he  
  
waited for the timer to count to zero.   
  
Our feet knocked against the cobblestoned streets of the town. I heard  
  
my brother shout,"Go!" Then it opened.   
  
A siwrling vortex appeared. It There was a bright,white light in the  
  
center. The air arround the vortex shimmered like the air in the Mojave  
  
Desert at high noon in July. With shots being fired at us,we leaped  
  
straight in. Soon we were on a journey to the unknown.  
  
We left that world,that universe,and were flying through a tunnel of  
  
light. In the past year,I have never ceased to be amazed at traveling  
  
thorugh this tunnel of lights my brother Quinn calls a wormhole. I could  
  
see Quinn and Remmy flying through the tunel,along with our other  
  
companion Maggie. Then,I saw something I never expected to see.   
  
I saw another traveler,flying through the tunnel in the opposite direction.   
  
For I second,I wondered if someone at the other side saw it open and  
  
decided to jump through. In any event,we would have to go back to the  
  
world we just left to find him. Hopefully,the guys who had been pursuing  
  
us just minutes ago would not be there when we returned.   
  
Then I saw that he was on a collision course with me. I saw him  
  
briefly,a man with dark hair. That was it. He collided with me,and for a  
  
moment,I weas flying out of control. I wondered if I would end up back  
  
where I started.   
  
I felt myself hit the ground. I figured I must have reached the end of  
  
the wormhole. I wondered if I had slid back to the world I just left.  
  
Suddenly,the dark ground below me was illuminted. I looked back to see  
  
where the light was coming from,and I saw a hugfe trcuk heading at me at  
  
about fifty-five miles per hour. I quickly got out of the way before the  
  
truck could flatten me. Afdter I saw the truck pass by me,I looked around  
  
at my surroundings. Having been sliding for a year,that has become a  
  
reflex.   
  
I was standing on a long suspension bridge. At least I did not slide  
  
back to that world I just left. I looked around for the others. I did not  
  
see them in sight. I wondered if they had been hit by the bridge traffic.  
  
I noticed there was little traffic on the bridge at this time of the  
  
night. I climed over a railing to the pedestrian walkway and looked down.   
  
I saw dark,murky water below. There was nothing on the surface except  
  
a buoy and a boat apparenbtly used by the harbor patrol. I wondered if  
  
Quinn,Remmy,and Maggie fell into the water.   
  
"Quinn!" I shouted. "Remmy! Maggie!" I shouted their names many  
  
times,but there was no response.   
  
Now here was a sityuation for me. Not only did I lose my friends,Remmy  
  
was holding the timer when we slid. If the sliding window passed,the timer  
  
would be useless for twenty-nine years,as my brother told me.   
  
I looked down the bridge,and can see the lights of a city.   
  
"Only one thing to do,Colin," I said to myself. I walked along the  
  
bridge,towards the city in the distance.   
  
As it turned out,it was a long,thirty minute walk. As I walked towards  
  
the city,hundreds of thoughts flooded my mind. I wondered who that guy was  
  
that traveled through the wormhole. Was he someone who just happened to be  
  
walking across this bridge when he accidentally stepped in? And where are  
  
Quinn,Remmy,and Maggie? Did they fall into the water? If so,the harbor  
  
patrol would see them and pick them up. Falling from that height,they  
  
would get hurt. It would not have done me any good just to stand on the  
  
bridge. But first thing is first. I had to reach that city and find out  
  
where I am.   
  
As I approached the city,I can see it had skyscrapers. I landed near a  
  
major city,so that was fortunate for me. After minutes of walking,I could  
  
see the tollbooth where people would pay to drive across this bridge. I  
  
ran towards the end of the bridge. The pedestrian walkway of the bridge  
  
ended in a stairwell,and I went down to the city below.   
  
The neighborhood I was in looked like an industrial area. There were a  
  
bunch of warehouses. It was very dark,and the lighting was poor. I figured  
  
this must be the harbor area. I walked dwon the streets to get to the  
  
downtown area of the city.   
  
I made it to a street lined with shops. Some of the shops had bright  
  
neon lights. I went to read the signs.   
  
And I found out I could not read them. Ity was not in English at all. I  
  
recognized the writing as Arabic. I wondered if this was an Arab  
  
neighborhood. then I saw that all the street signs were in Arabic. There  
  
were no English signs. None at all. I ran to a phone booth. I recognized  
  
the numerals on the numeric keypad,as numerals are the same in Arabic and  
  
English. In fact,it was the Arabs who invented the numeral system that I  
  
use. But when I looked at the cover of the phone book,it was written in  
  
Arabic. And all the listings were also in Arabic.   
  
I went out of the phone booth,and saw a convenience store. Although  
  
the sign was in Arabic,I could tell it was a convenience store from the  
  
fact that I can see various items inside,and the store is well-lit. So I  
  
went inside.   
  
Inside the store,I saw a Chinese guy manning the counter.   
  
"Excuse me," I asked. "I am a little lost. Could you tell me where I am?"   
  
The guy said some unfamilar words. It was either in Arabic or Chinese.  
  
I could understand from the context that he was saying he did not  
  
understand me. It was not a new situation to me;I slid into worlds where  
  
the dominant language in California was a language other than English. I  
  
looked at a counter and saw what appeared to be maps. I unfolded the map.  
  
Even if I could not read the words,the street layout would tell me where I  
  
am.   
  
As it turned out,I was in San Francisco,California. I had entered this  
  
world,this dimension,right on top of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.  
  
In my travels,my companions and I always slide to a specific area in  
  
California. We can land as far north as San Francisco or as far south as  
  
Los Angeles. I had slid to San Francisco many times and am familar with  
  
the street layout. So I put the map back onto the rack and I went out into  
  
the dark street. As I left,I heard the Chinese guy mumble something.   
  
The building looked the same as it did in other worlds,although the  
  
sign was in Arabic. The lobby was still open,consistent with the  
  
assumption that this building is a hotel. When I walked inside,the lobby  
  
looked just like the lobby of the Dominion Hotel. I saw the recption  
  
desk,and a rack filled with brochures,which I figured was printed in  
  
Arabic.   
  
Whenever my friends and I slide into the Bay Area,we go to the Dominion  
  
Hotel on Van Ness Avenue. This was our meeting point in San Francisco. If  
  
we happened to get separated after the slide,we would go straight to the  
  
meeting point.   
  
I went to the counter and spoke with the receptionist.   
  
"Excuse me," I said. "Did anyone come into this hotel?"   
  
The man said something,which I figured was that he did not understand  
  
my question.   
  
"Could you please help me? I'm looking for my friends."  
  
It was no use,the poor guy just didn't understand. In my travels,I had  
  
learned to speak other languages just to be prepared in case we landed in  
  
a world where the predominant language in California wasn't English. But  
  
none of us learned to speak Arabic. With no way to speak their language,I  
  
coiuld not ask for my friends or even get a room. Not that I could get a  
  
room even if I was fluent in Arabic,because all my money was printed in  
  
English. and I know I can't just sleep on the couch in the lobby,although  
  
it was mighty tempting.   
  
A hotel employee walked up to me and asked me somthing. He was dressed  
  
in Arbaic-style clothing,with baggy red pants and a white shirt.   
  
"I'm looking for my friends," I said. "They told me they would meet  
  
here. I can't speak Arabic."   
  
I sae the employeee talk with the guy at the counter. They were  
  
conversing in Arabic about me. I wondered if they would call the police.  
  
The bar was closed,and there was nowhere else to go.   
  
So I left. I walked along Van Ness Avenue,or whatever name they called  
  
it on this world. There were some cars parked aslong the curbn,and I saw  
  
tracks for the cable cars. After a long walk thorughn the streets of San  
  
Francisco,I ended up at Golden Gate Park.   
  
And I claimed a park bench. Here I was separated from my friends,with  
  
money that was useless,and without a way to slide to the next world. As I  
  
lay down on the wooden bench,I thought about the events that got me here.   
  
The whole thing started when I was born. My name is Colin Mallory,and I  
  
was the firstborn of Michael and Elizabeth Mallory. Two years after my  
  
birth,my mother gave birth to Quinn. The events that were transpiring at  
  
the time was what led me to this bench.   
  
On my home world,there were these people called kromaggs,who are a  
  
different species of people. The humans and the kromaggs were fighting a  
  
war in the 1970's. The humans on my world had developed sliding  
  
technology,and my parents sent me asnd Quinn to live with their respective  
  
duplicate parents on other worlds.   
  
I grew up in El Segundo,California,in the country known as the United  
  
States of America. On my wordls,technolgy such as  
  
cars,airplanes,spaceships,current electricity,and of course,sliding  
  
technology was not invented. The fastest means of travel was by train.  
  
Soon after I was born,my foster parents died. I lived there for  
  
twenty-seven years,not knowing my true heritage.   
  
Until my brother Quinn came. After I spoke with Quinn and his  
  
companions Rembrandt Brown and Maggie Beckett,I learned my brother's  
  
story.   
  
Quinn grew up in a world more advanced in technology than my own. He  
  
had thought he was born there. He lived in the city of San  
  
Francisco,California,in the United States of America. He briefly explained  
  
the history of his world,noting events such as the American Revolution and  
  
the Second World War. On my world,America did not become an independent  
  
country until 1888,and it was through peaceful means. And there was no  
  
Second World War nor an atomic bomb. On Quinn's world,the U.S. President  
  
was Bill Clinton and the governor of California was Pete Wilson. On my  
  
world,the U.S. President was Pat Buchanan and the governor of California  
  
was John van de Kamp.   
  
In 1994,Quinn had invented a machine to research anti-gravity. He  
  
opened a mysterious portal. After studying it,he went through and found a  
  
paralell dimesnsion where red means go and Elvis Presley is still alive.  
  
(No one named Elvis gained fame in my world,and on Quinn's world,Elvis  
  
died of a drug overdose. I remmbered a time when we landed on a world  
  
where Elvis Presley was on a comeback tour,and Quinn and I got jobs as  
  
ushers in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Remmy,whose duplicate was  
  
also a famous singer,got to perform live on stage with Elvis,but that is a  
  
different story for a different time.)  
  
Quinn and two companions,Wade Wells and Maximilian Arturo,slid with  
  
Quinn the second time. Remmy accidentally drove through as he was driving  
  
to sing the national anthem at the World Series. The timer malfuntioned  
  
and they did not get back to Quinn's home world,which herefafter shall be  
  
called Earth Prime.   
  
The four of them had many adventures in the years they were sliding.  
  
They repeatedly ran into the same people,including alternate versions of  
  
themselves. In 1997,they ran into Captain Maggie Beckett of the United  
  
States Marine Corps. Maximilian Arturo was shot and killed soon  
  
afterward,so I never got to meet the original professor,althiough I  
  
encountered his duplicates in other worlds.   
  
After six months of sliding,Wade and Remmy made it back home,but Quinn  
  
and Maggie missed them. They had another timer,and after three months,they  
  
made it back to Earth Prime. Anyone who reads this would think the journey  
  
is over. But it had just begun.   
  
The kromaggs,who had fought a war with humans on my world of  
  
birth,began conquering parallel worlds. Because my birth world's  
  
technology was considerably advanced compared to most other worlds,the  
  
kromaggs were successful. They had conquered Earth Prime in 1997,occupying  
  
its major cities. Quinn and Maggie finally found Remmy,who told them two  
  
horrible things. First,Wade was sent to a breeder camp on another world.  
  
Second,this was home. Remmy had checked this world's history as well as  
  
his personal history,and they were consistent with Earth Prime.  
  
However,antoher revelation occurred. Quinn's mother Elizabeth Mallory gave  
  
Quinn a microdot where he heard a message from his birth parents. Quinn  
  
learned the truth of his heritage,and he,Maggie,and Remmy started sliding  
  
again insearch of me and a weapon that was used to defeat the kromaggs on  
  
their home world. After seven months of sliding,they finally found me,and  
  
I chose to go along for the ride.   
  
Now I am here on this park bench. I am transcribing this from a journal  
  
I bought at Borders Bookstore soon after I started sliding. I looked up to  
  
the night sky,wondering if I would find a way back to my friends,and a way  
  
back to my home world. 


	2. Settling In

The rays of the morning sun woke me up. I did not see anyone elese in  
  
the park except for some bums and a jogger. I got up,and decided to walk  
  
back to the Dominion Hotel.   
  
I went inside the lobby,and I saw a different guy than the one I saw  
  
last night. the recongized him as Gomez Calhoun,the manager of the hotel.  
  
He is a fat man with light brown hair.   
  
"Excuse me,I am looking for a few friends of mine," I said to him.   
  
He utterred something,but it is clear he did not understand English. It  
  
was then that I noticed something.   
  
A No-Smoking sign,with the familiar icon of a cigarette inside a circle  
  
with a slahs bar. I saw it was written in several different languages.   
  
Including Spanish. "NO FUMAR" it was written. Then it struck me. San  
  
Francisco is a major port city. Many immigrants live in San Francisco. I  
  
know that Chinese and Spanish are also spoken here. Maybe English is as  
  
well.   
  
A woman in a pink waitress's uniform walks up to me. She says,in  
  
English,"Hello. How may I help you?"   
  
"You speak English," I said to her. I looked at her. She is a bit  
  
shorter than me,with reddish-brown hair.   
  
"Only a little," she replied. "I'm not good."   
  
"The name is Mallory," I said. "Colin Mallory. I want to see if Quinn  
  
Mallory,Rembrandt Brown,or Maggie Beckett checked in here." I spoke  
  
slowly,so she would understand.   
  
The waitress speaks with Calhoun,who checks the computer. She comes  
  
back to me and says,"No,they are not here."   
  
"Well,I am leaving them a message. Do you have a notepad?"   
  
"Notepad?"   
  
"A paper."   
  
The waitress goes to the desk and gets a piece of paper. I write down  
  
this message.   
  
"I was here at the Dominion. I don't have any currency for this world.  
  
I will be here at the lobby during the day hours-Colin."   
  
"Give this to Quinn Mallory,Rembrandt Brown,or Maggie Beckett," I said  
  
to her. "Give this message to them if they ask for me."   
  
"Okay," she replied. "I tell you my name. Wells. Wade Wells."  
  
"Wade?" I asked. "Do you know Quinn?"   
  
"I do not know Quinn," Wade replied.   
  
"Is there a bookstore where they sell books written in English?" I asked.   
  
"Books? English?" asks Wade. "Little England."   
  
"Where is it?" I asked. "Point it to me on a map."   
  
Wade takes me to the hotel gift sop. There are various items for  
  
sale,from mugs and T-shirts. Wade takes a map of San Francisco,unfolds  
  
it,and points to an area. I can see she is pointing to Lombard Street,just  
  
a few blocks west of Van Ness Avenue.   
  
"Thank you," I said.   
  
"You're welcome," she replied. With that,I left the hotel to look for  
  
an English bookstore.   
  
As it turned out,Little England was an English neighborhood in San  
  
Francisco. The store signs were written in English. I found a small  
  
bookstore called Westminster Books.   
  
I went in,and an employee said hi to me in English. I went to a shelf  
  
marked "HISTORY",and I read about the history of this world. Every time we  
  
slid,we checked out the history of the world we were in.   
  
On this world,the Arabs colonized North America in 1367 (all datyes are  
  
in the English calendar,the Arabs use a different calendar.). They quickly  
  
spread west towards the Rockies. In 1689,they fought a war with Spain and  
  
gained California and the territories west of the Rockies.   
  
Soon afterward,there was a war for independence. The viceroys  
  
governing the American colonies declared independence in 1692,and drove  
  
out the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire,which were weakened by the war  
  
with Spain. By 1700,the United Emirates of America established itself as  
  
an independent country.   
  
History went on in a similar fashion to the American history of Earth  
  
Prime. Africans were imported as slaves. There were waves of immigration  
  
from Europe and Asia. There was even a civil war becuase of the division  
  
over slavery. In the end,the antislave southern emirates won and the emirs  
  
who led the northeastern emirates to secede were publicly beheaded. (On  
  
Earth Prime,the South supported slavery and lost the war.)  
  
Currently,the United Emirates of America has a federal system. Each of  
  
the fifty emirates are ruled by an emir who heads the emirate government.  
  
The federal government was headed by a sultan,who,rules from a palace in  
  
the Federal District of Saladin,which was named after the first Sultan.  
  
The United Emirates cover a wide area,encompassing all of North America  
  
north of the Mexican border.   
  
I had always loved reading. I began reading even more since I started  
  
sliding. My favorite part of sliding is reading the alternate histories of  
  
parallel worlds. In most cases,I would go to the public library,but this  
  
time I had to go to the bookstore on account that I can't read Arabic. All  
  
I know is that somehow,I had to make money.   
  
As it turned out,there was a job available. At the Dominion Hotel. I  
  
had asked Wade if there were positions available for me,and she told me  
  
Calhoun was hiring. It was,afdter all,the summer,and the hotel would be  
  
busy.   
  
"Calhoun only needs temporary workers," she said. "Business comes and  
  
goes by the year. And temporary help can be paid below the table."   
  
"You mean under the table," I said. "I just want room and baord and  
  
some money."   
  
As it turned out,Gomez Calhoun was very happy to hear about it. He said  
  
some Arabic phrases. Wade told me that he is happy to have a worker for  
  
the upcoming season,. As for the room,he did not mind. Wade told me I can  
  
stay in the room at least until all reservations are filled.   
  
"Wade," I said. "Did anyone come looking for me?"   
  
"No," she replied. She left and went back to work. I looked at Wade. I  
  
wondered how syurpirsed she would be to know the truth about me,and about  
  
the part where one of her duplicates was sent to a breeder camp.   
  
So I went to work. My job was cleaning the rooms and stuff with vacuum  
  
cleaners and ammonia and other stuff. Calhoun would just write the room  
  
number down and I would go clean it. I was assigned one of the cheap,lower  
  
level rooms,which I kept tidy myself. Every morning,the hotel served a  
  
free continental breakfast,with pastries and cereal. At lunch and dinner,I  
  
was entitled to a small serving of food. I had never tasted Arabic food  
  
before,and it was delicious. I would also greet the hotel guests. Most of  
  
them did not understand English,but they understood I was greeting them.  
  
At night,I would go to bed. sometimesd I would watch TV and tune it to the  
  
Spanish channel,since I understand Spanish. At the end of each week,I was  
  
paid in cash. Wade told me the currency was dinars. I still held on to my  
  
three hundred dollars;I might need it someday.   
  
One day,Wade told me that the hotel was totally booked and I had to  
  
vacate my room while it was reserved. It appeared not a single room will  
  
be available for me for at least four days.   
  
"You can stay with me," she said. So that's what I did.   
  
Her apartment was small. It had a living room,a bathroom,and two  
  
bedrooms. She introduced me to her roommate,Stephanie Bowman,a  
  
blond-haired lady who appeared to be about Wade's age.   
  
"You can sleep on this," she said,pointing to the couch. I lied down.  
  
As I closed my eyes,I can hear Wade and Stephanie talking in Arabic. I  
  
could tell they were talking about me.   
  
The next day,I went back to the Dominion to work again. I had some  
  
spending money,and I decided to ask Wade something.   
  
"Would you like to go out tonight?" I asked.   
  
"Yes," she replied.   
  
So that's what we did.   
  
We went to a fish and chips place in the Little England neighborhood of  
  
San Francisco. I did not make enoguh money to take her to a fancier  
  
restaurant,so I took her here and ordered fish and chips. We sat down on a  
  
table. There were stains on it. The place was not crowded,there was only  
  
one other man sitting at the far side of the place.  
  
"Mallory," said Wade. "Stephanie knew a Mallory."   
  
"Quinn?" I asked.   
  
"Yes," she replied. "They went to the university. Both of them."  
  
"That was him," I said. "He's my brother. Dud you know him well?"   
  
"No," she replied. "I was not close. Ask Stephanie."  
  
"Does Stephanie speak English?"   
  
"No,she doesn't. She chose Chinese."   
  
"Oh. Tell me about yourself Wade. About what you want to do."   
  
"I was born in San Francisco. Attended Northshore College. Major  
  
Poetry. I studied English for three years. I am not good at it. I want to  
  
write."   
  
"an author?"   
  
"Yes. I want to write English and Arabic."  
  
"Maybe you will learn to speak English better."   
  
"Maybe you learn Arabic," she said,smiling.   
  
"I might have to. I need to see someone at the university where Quinn  
  
and Stephanie attended."   
  
"A girl?"   
  
"No,a professor. I am not sure if he is still there. His name is  
  
Maximilian Arturo."   
  
"We will do that on the day off." 


	3. Enter Arturo

Gomez Calhoun agreed to give us the day off on Friday. In return for a  
  
night shift. Wade and I traveled along the cable cars of the city,and we  
  
reached the university where my brother attended school. It was a  
  
large,beautiful campus. I saw many students on their prayer mats praying.  
  
It seems most of the population is Muslim. Wade looked into a directory to  
  
find Professor Maximilian Arturo.   
  
"He's here,Colin," she said. "What if he don't speak English?"   
  
"He immigrated from England," I answered. "He should speak English  
  
better than you."   
  
So we went to Arturo's office and waited for him. As it turned out,he  
  
was returning from a lecture. With his Arabic-style clothing,he looked  
  
like the guy from the Indiana Jones movie I saw about a year ago.   
  
"Excuse me,Professor,I need your help," I said.   
  
"You speak English," he said. "Well,normally,I ask for an  
  
appointment,but I will hear you out,since you speak my native language."   
  
"I am Colin Mallory," I said. "Quinn Mallory's brother."   
  
"I remember him," he said. "Are you asking about him?"   
  
"Well,yes and no," I said.   
  
"For your information,he is working in a research institute in New Syria."  
  
"Where is that?"   
  
"Back east,you geographically-impaired twit! God,this country's  
  
education system must be rotting if our young people can't find New Syria  
  
on a map!"   
  
That sounded like the Professor Arturo Quinn told me about.   
  
"Listen,do you know anything about sliding?" I asked.   
  
"Sliding?" asked the professor with a hint of annoyance. "Why shoudl a  
  
professor of ontology and cosmology woory about such a trivial thing as  
  
sliding down a slide in a playground. Yiou want to know about sliding,ask  
  
a child!"   
  
"What I meant was interdimensional travel. Traveling across time,as  
  
opposed to back and forth. do you know anything about other dimensions of  
  
time?"  
  
"Well,yes. It is one of the subjects I teach."   
  
He explained what my brother Quinn had explained many times. Time is  
  
not one dimension,but many dimensions. The uncertainty principle causes  
  
these parallel times to evolve differently. However,events in each these  
  
parallel universes influence the probability distributions of events in  
  
nearby universes. That is why many parallel and seemingly-independent  
  
dimensions are similar in their histories.   
  
The professor also said that matter and enrgy are normally confined to  
  
a single dimension,just like electrons are confined to orbitals around the  
  
atomic nucleus. However,it is possible to cause matter to jump out of the  
  
dimension and end up in another dimension,just as electrons can be removed  
  
from their orbitals.   
  
"It was very nice to have this discussion," he said.   
  
"There is a reason," I said. "I am from another dimension."   
  
"What?"   
  
I told him about how I was borbn on a parallel earth,how I was sent to  
  
another world to grow up,and how my brother found me and took me to other  
  
worlds.   
  
"Sliding. Kromaggs," he said. "If you weren;t interested in my theories.  
  
I'd call you a kook. Still,I would not know where your friends are. I am  
  
sorry,lad."   
  
"It's okay," I said.   
  
"Let me give you my number,Mister Mallory," said Arturo. He gave me a  
  
card with a telephone number. So Wade and I left.   
  
The rest of the day,we went on a tour of the city. I was bored,since  
  
everything looked the same except for the Arabic writing. At sundown,we  
  
went back to the hotel. Calhoun told me,through Wade as interpreter,that a  
  
room is available for me. I worked hard that night,cleaning the vacant  
  
rooms and washing linens. After my shift was over,I went to my room. I  
  
said goodbye to Wade.   
  
I lied down and turbned on the television. I saw nothing but snow. I  
  
kept flipping the channels,and there was stiull nothing but snow. I  
  
wondered what was causing the interference. Anyway,I decided to read the  
  
English newspaper. There were news about Enbgland as well as the English  
  
community of San Francisco. There was an article about the Sultan. I fell  
  
asleep,with the newspaper i my hand. 


	4. A New World

I dreamt I was floating in sea of colored lights. Images appeared everywhere. I tried to move,but there was nothing to push against.   
  
"Quinn!" I shouted. "Rembrandt! Maggie!" No answer. I just floated  
  
there is the nothingness.   
  
Suddenly,I was awakened by a scream. I loked up and saw Wade  
  
Wells,dressed in a maid's uniform.   
  
"Wade," I said. "Good morning."   
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked.   
  
"Am I in the wrong room?"  
  
"Yes you are in the wrong room. This is supposed to be vacant."   
  
"Did Mister Calhoun forget to mark this room as occupied."   
  
"Who are you?"   
  
"You know me. Colin Mallory. I work here. I started just a few weeks ago."   
  
"Well,I do not know any Colin Mallory," she said. "Get out before I  
  
call the police."   
  
"Your English is better."   
  
"Of course it is. This is America,pal."   
  
I immediately ran outside the room,down the hallway to the elevator. I pressed the button fgor the lobby and seconds later,I was at the lobby. I rushed out,bearly running into a guest. I looked out on the scene of Van  
  
Ness Avenue,with the cars driving down thre streets and a streetcar  
  
running down the track.   
  
that is when I noticed. The store signs were in English. The sign above the hotel read "DOMINION HOTEL" The advertising billboards on the cable cars are also in English. So were the street signs. No trace of Arabic  
  
writing was anywhere in the area.   
  
There is no way anyone can change all the signs into English overnight.  
  
The only explanation was I slid while I slept.   
  
But then,where are Quinn,Rembrandt,and Maggie? If they found just in time for the slide,they would have taken me to the lobby and woken me up.   
  
I looked into the lobby. I can see Gomez Calhoun speaking to Wade. In English. This was a deep mystery for me.   
  
After standing in front of the Dominion,I pout myself together and did  
  
the usual. First,I went to the phonbe to look for any alternates in the  
  
phone book.   
  
The names of my parents,Michael and Elizabeth Mallory,were listed. there is no spearate listing for Quinn. No listing for Rembrandt Brown. I already knew that Wade existed in this world,from my encoubnter in the  
  
hotel. I boarded a cable car on Van Ness Avenue and went to my next destination. The San Francisco Public Library.   
  
I went inside the public library. It was huge,with hundreds of shelves and thousands of books. I went to a computer terminal to access the directory. I searched for the subject "American History" and found 1456 entries. I went upstairs and I searched through the shelves looking for the call number of the book. I took out a book published in 1997. It was a book written in the format of a college textbook.   
  
Early American history was uninteresting. There was an American Revolution just like on Earth Prime. there was a list of U.S. Presidents  
  
and a listing of historical events like the expansion westward,but nothing standing out.  
  
It was the Recent American History that stood out. IN 1941,the United States of America declared war on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The National Socialist Republic of Germany delcared war on the United States. Quinn told me about that,and in Earth Prime's history,Japan and Germany was defeated.   
  
But this was different. The Germans repelled the 1944 invasion of Normandy during thre Second World War. Adolf Hitler,the Fuhrer of  
  
Germany,focused his land forces on Russia,and Russia fell to the Nazis. The war continued for one year. Then on August 6,1945,the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima,Japan. Germany,in response,loaded two V-2 rockets with atomic bombs and destroyed New York City and Boston. With Japan and Great Britain withdrawing from the war,it was between the United States and Nazi Germany. There were a few sea battles,but the U.S. failed to liberate France. In 1947,the U.S. and Germany signed a truce which  
  
ended the war. Both countries concentrated on building up their military forces for the day when the war would erupt between the two superpowers. Both superpowers were involved in conflicts in the Middle East and South  
  
America. They both established space programs,with Germany clearly in the  
  
lead. On April 20,1966-Adolf Hitler's seventy-seventh birthday-a German astronaut landed on the moon and planted the swastika flag on the ground. Hitler used this event as an example of Aryan superiority.   
  
Now that I have had a rough overview of the world, I set out to find my brother's duplicate on this world. Since he is not listed in San Francisco, maybe I could find him on the Internet.  
  
There were several computers in the library for Internet access. A sign read that access is allowed for thirty minutes per user. I went to whitepages.com, which exists on this world. After that I got a phone listing for Quinn Mallory. He lived in Long Beach, and his number was (562) 433-6985.  
  
So now I have to get to Long Beach. I went to another room in the library, which had a bunch of maps. I looked at a map of California.  
  
It looked like I was in for a four hundred mile journey south. Walking was not an option, and the money I earned from cleaning the hotel was not useful on this world.   
  
Minutes later, I was standing on the onramp of U.S. 101, sticking my thumb out for a ride. A Peterbilt truck stopped and the driver called out.  
  
"I'm heading south," I said.  
  
"Take you as far down as Salinas," said the driver. "Remember this. I have a gun, so no funny business."  
  
I hopped into the cab and we headed south on the 101. 


	5. The Project

It took a good seven hours to hitchhike all the way to Long Beach, using five trucks. It was already dark by the time I got there. But here I am, in the Port of Long Beach.   
  
The port was a huge place. Most of the vehicles here are trucks. I saw some rail; cars parked on railroad sidings. There were several ships docked, some attended with cranes. Even at this hour, I could see some longshoremen working on one of the cargo ships.   
  
It was time for me to find a telephone. I reached a GTE public telephone. I looked up Quinn. He was still there. Hopefully, this duplicate of my brother was still at home. I dialed 0 for the operator.  
  
"How may I direct your call?' asked the operator.  
  
"562-433-6985," I said. "Tell him it is Colin."  
  
I heard the phone ring, and then a female voice answered. "Colin, is that you?"  
  
"Yes, it's me," I said to her. "Is Quinn there?"  
  
"He's working late. So, where are you?"  
  
"The Port of Long Beach."  
  
"What, did you desert?"  
  
I wonder what she meant by that. "It's important that I talk to him."  
  
"Could you pick me up?"  
  
"Tell me where in the port you are."  
  
So I waited in the port. And waited. And waited. I hoped that the police did not pick me up for loitering. Finally, someone shone a flashlight at me.  
  
"Colin!" shouted the woman.   
  
I immeditely got into the car, a Toyota Tercel. Soon we were driving along a street called Ocean Boulevard. I could see we were in the downtown area. There were a lot of tall buldings, like the Wells Fargo building and the Courtyard by Marriott.I looked at the driver of the car. She was in her mid-twenties, with blond hair.She had a tattoo on her forehead. I also notiuced that she was pregnant.  
  
"Tell me what you are doing here," said the woman.   
  
"I'm just visiting," I said. "I'm on a journey."  
  
"Did you tell your unit about this?"  
  
"My unit?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"You know, your Marine unit. You may be my husband's brother, but..."  
  
"You're married to Quinn?" I asked.  
  
"You were at the wedding. How could you forge?. Let me say this. If you are deserting the Marines, I'm not going to hide you. You can spend the night. But if the Marines come looking for you, I'm gonna turn you in."  
  
I sat down and looked out the window at this new world. I had encountered married duplicates of myself, not to mention Quinn.   
  
After a few minutes, the woman parked the car in the garage of her home. Quinn's home.  
  
The next day was a day full of surprises. It started out typical. I had  
  
some Fruity Pebbles for breakfast,plus Webber's wheat bread and Minute  
  
Maid orange juice. Quinn was dressed in a suit and tie,ready for work.  
  
There was a knock on the door,and Quinn opened it.   
  
I saw a raven-haired woman in a Marine dress uniform standing at the  
  
door. I recognized her as Maggie Beckett.   
  
"Maggie!" I said. "You're here! Where's Quinn and Remmy?"   
  
"Do I know you?" she asked me. She turned to Quinn and said,"Mallory,if  
  
this is one of your tricks." I had never heard Maggie call Quinn by his  
  
last name.   
  
"It's no trick,Major," replied my brother. "This man is from another  
  
dimension of time. Look at his forearm."  
  
I showed Maggie my forearm. She rubbed her finger against my forearm.   
  
"No makeup," she said. "No scar. That means there was no bar code in  
  
the first place."   
  
"What is your name?" she asked.   
  
"Colin Mallory," I replied. "I am Quinn's brother-or a counterpart thereof."   
  
"Okay,Colin Mallory," she said to me. "You're coming with us." She led  
  
me to a green Chevrolet sedan. Two MP's accompanied me. I saw Quinn get  
  
inside a blue Ford Mustang. On the doors of the Chevrolet was  
  
written,"U.S. MARINES FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY" I sat inside the back seat.  
  
Maggie started the car and we drove westbound on Second Street. After  
  
passing through a bunch of shops and taverns and restaurants,she turned  
  
left on Livingston Drive,and proceeded west on Ocean Boulevard. I can see  
  
the Pacific Ocean on my left side,and houses on my right. After a few  
  
minutes,we reached the downtown area,where there were tall buildings,lots  
  
of cars,buses,and people. Then we crossed a long bridge,which Maggie said  
  
was the Gerald Desmond Bridge. At the other side of the bridge,ther sedan  
  
continued along Ocean Boulevard. I can see we are in a harbor area. She  
  
stopped at a traffic light and turned right. We approached the gate of a  
  
military base. A sign on the fence read,"U.S. MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE  
  
TERMINAL ISLAND." The MP let the car through,and Maggie parked in a  
  
parking lot.   
  
"Get out," she said. I complied. I looked around. It was a small  
  
base,with a dozen buildings or so. There were military vehicles parked in  
  
the parking lot. She took me to one of the buildings,which was the  
  
security building. First,she had be fingerprinted. Then we walked through  
  
a hallway,passing some Marines. We then went inside a small room with a  
  
table and two chairs. The only light in the room came from a small lamp  
  
above.   
  
"Sit down,Mallory," she said. "If that is who you really are. I am  
  
going to ask you a few questions. Where were you born?"   
  
"I am not sure," I replied. "I was never told where I was born. I know  
  
it is on another dimension,and my parents brought me to another dimension  
  
to grow up."   
  
"Why did they do that?" she asked.   
  
I explained everything. About the war between the humans and kromaggs.  
  
My life in El Segundo. My meeting with Quinn Mallory,Maggie Beckett,and  
  
Rembrandt Brown. I told her how the kromaggs conquered Rembrandt's home  
  
world,the world where Quinn started his journey. I told her how I joined  
  
them in their search for my true home world,where my father invented a  
  
weapon that drove the kromaggs from my home world and can be used to  
  
liberate Rembrandt's home world. About how I got separated from my friends  
  
and my brother.   
  
After that,she asked,"Are you a member of the Nazi Party or any Nazi  
  
sympathizer group?"   
  
"No," I replied.   
  
"You will stay here," she said. And then she left.   
  
After an hour,she went back to confront me again. "We did a background  
  
check on you,Mister Mallory. It seems there is an actual Colin Mallory.  
  
Staff Sergeant Colin Mallory,of the United States Marine Corps,33rd  
  
Tactical Aircraft Wing. He is stationed in the Marine Corps Air Station in  
  
El Toro,currently under deployment to Egypt. We checked with his  
  
commander. He is in Egypt. So,the question is, WHO ARE YOU?"   
  
"I told you," I said. "I am Colin Mallory. I am just from another  
  
dimension. I was sliding-traveling through dimensions-with a duplicate of  
  
you. and I know something about sliding. If the timer runs out and you  
  
miss the wormhole,the timer does not work for 29.7 years."   
  
Maggie once again left,leaving me inside the dimly-lit room.   
  
After another hour,an MP enters the room.   
  
"The general wants to see you," he said. So that's what I did.   
  
The MP escorted me through the base to the office of Major General  
  
Alexander Hunt. I looked around,seeing Marines going about doing work. I  
  
also passed an officers club and a gymnasium. I went inside the main  
  
building and I was led through the hallways. Soon,I was inside the office  
  
of General Hunt. I saw a man in a Marine's uniform which I figured to be  
  
General Hunt. He is lean,and had brown hair and a brown beard. He sat  
  
behind an oak desk. There was a bookshelf on the side,and a soft carpet  
  
covered the floor.   
  
"So,you are the interdimensional traveler,Colin Mallory," he said.   
  
"That's right," I replied.   
  
"We ran your prints and they match those of Sergeant Colin Mallory who  
  
is in Egypt. Let me see your arm."   
  
I showed him my arm.   
  
"No bar code. We know that Sergeant Mallory has a bar code. There is no  
  
way the Nazis can change a man's prints and face. And even they are not  
  
stupid enough to leave out a bar code. You are Colin Mallory,although you  
  
are not the Colin Mallory who is a Marine sergeant."   
  
"Sir,this man knows a lot about interdimensional travel," said  
  
Maggie,who was in the room with the general.   
  
"Let us show him what this base is really for. Even if he is a Nazi  
  
spy,it is too late for the Nazis to catch up to us in this endeavor."   
  
I was escorted down an elevator to the lower level. The hallways of the  
  
lower level had concrete floors and concrete walls,and pipes ran overhead.  
  
We went inside a room labeled "CONTROL". Entering,I saw Quinn with some  
  
other technicains,all wearing white lab coats. They were working on  
  
computer terminals inside the room.   
  
"Colin," said Quinn. "General,are you sure you should show him this."   
  
"We won't be showing him anything that the Nazis could use," replied  
  
General Hunt. Hunt turned towards a black woman working with Quinn.   
  
"Doctor Davis,is everything okay?" he asked.   
  
"Everything's fine,General," replied Davis.   
  
"Colin,this is Dr. Diana Davis,one of the techs here," said Quinn.   
  
"Hi," said Dr. Davis.   
  
"I forgot to aks you," said the general. "How did you end up here?"   
  
"Well,I was sliding with my friends," I said. "Suddenly,I collided  
  
withn someone traveling in the opposite direction."   
  
"You ended up here?" asked Maggie.   
  
"No,on a different world. A wordl where the dominant language in  
  
California is Arabic. One day,as I was sleeping,I somehow slid here."   
  
"Maybe your friedns found you and slid you through whiole you slept."   
  
"But I did not find them when I arrived in this dimension."   
  
"This is interesting," said Davis. "We might have to check you out."   
  
I looked thorugh a window into the adjoining room. I can see various  
  
electrical equipment. I figured this was the wormhole generator.  
  
Suddenly,I saw a team of Marines enter the room.   
  
"We are about o explore a new world," said Quinn. He typed on a  
  
keyboard and clicked the button on a trackball. Suddenly,all of the meters  
  
and gauges on the electrical equipment in the control room moved. I saw  
  
the wormhole open on the other side.   
  
It was green in color,with a white light in the center. After it was  
  
oppen,the Marines went through. Then the vortex closed.   
  
"What are they doing?" I asked.   
  
"Exploring new worlds," said Maggie. "Learning about their histories.  
  
That is what we do. We are explorers."   
  
"They will be back in twelve hours," said Quinn.  
  
I entered the home. It was quite small. The living room had the basic furniture-sofas and a coffee table. A Sony Trinitron television was standing next to the white plaster wall.  
  
I took a closer look. On a small table along the wall I saw pictures. There was a wedding picture of Quinn and his wife. I also saw my duplicate's parents Michael and Elizabeth Mallory standing near Quinn, as well as Quinn's parents-in-law. Standing near the bride The date of the wedding was June 20,1995.   
  
Quinn's wife went up to me and pulled a cigarette from a pack of Joe Camel  
  
cigarettes.   
  
"I don't smoke," I said. "It's bad for you."   
  
"Maybe tobacco is,but this is marijuana," she replied. "It is perfectly  
  
harmless. It won;t kill you. Besides,you never forsook an opportunity to  
  
smoke a joint."   
  
I held the joint in my hand,and Quinn's wife lit it for me. Soon ,I was puffing away on the joint. As I smoked,I noticed that my worries of  
  
finding my friends were gradually slipping away. I have been to worlds where marijuana was sold over-the-counter,and it was great. Soon I was sitting on a reclining chair,just puffing away. I turned on the TV,and saw some talk show host on. His name was Geraldo.   
  
I asked to see a wedding album. The wife obliged. I looked through it. I saw a picture of my duplicate, dressed in a tuxedo. I also saw that Quinn's wife is named Stephanie.   
  
An hour later,Quinn came home. I did not notice it until he placed his hands on my shoiudlers.   
  
"Quinn!" I shouted.   
  
"Colin!" he shouted back. "Good to see you here,bro."   
  
"Same to you."   
  
"You on vacation?"  
  
"I'll explain."  
  
"I hope you didn't desert."  
  
"Steph," Quinn said to his wife. He went over to her and kissed her.   
  
"How was work,honey?" she asked.   
  
"It was great," he replied. "I wish I could tell you what it's about." I smiled. Then for a second, I  
  
remmebered this was NOT the Quinn Mallory I met at my adopted home world. This was not the Quinn I slid with the past year. The Quinn Mallory in this house may as well be a stranger to me.   
  
"Colin," said Stephanie. "Would you like dinner?"   
  
"Yes," I replied. "I would love dinner."   
  
So that's what we did.  
  
Stephanie served pork chops for dinner. Grilled pork chops. I dipped the pork chops into the KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce before eating them. I remembered that there were no pork chops anywhere in the last world I've been to.   
  
"So Colin," said Quinn. "How are things going in Egypt?"   
  
"Fine," I replied. "From what I can tell,there was no hostile activity  
  
from Iraq." I was fortunate to read the Press-Telegram newspaper and Time  
  
magazine.  
  
"Still,we have to watch Saddam," said Quinn.   
  
"I know." I looked at Stephanie. "So Stephanie,when are you due?"   
  
"In four months," she replied.  
  
After dinner was over,I said to Stephanie,"Quinn and I need to talk one-to-one. Brother-to-brother."   
  
"Okay," replies Stephanie. Im went over to Quinn to talk to him.   
  
"What?" he asked.   
  
"It's about me," I replied. "Where I came from."   
  
"You were born and raised in San Francisco just like me."   
  
"No, I wasn't. I'm not from this timeline, in fact.."   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"Well, you see, time has two dimensions. One is the future-past dimension. The other dimension is the history dimension. You see,events in each timeline proceed differently than events in neighboring  
  
timelines."   
  
"That is due to the uncertainty principle."   
  
"Yes,that is it. Even with the uncertainty principle,events in one timeline affect the probability distributions of events in nearby  
  
timelines. Ordinarily,particles are confined to one timeline. But if it can get enough energy,it can skip to another timeline."   
  
"I am familiar with that theory. I had this professor back at the University of California who taught such things."   
  
"The reason I am telling you this is because I am from another timeline,another world. I am not the brother you grew up with. I was born on another world. There was a war,and my parents sent me and your counterpart to grow up in different timelines. Later,your counterpart that is my brother invented a sliding machine which can allow him to visit  
  
other timelines. He later found me,and we slid together to find our true home. But along the way,I got separated from them."   
  
"No barcode," my brother's duplicate said.  
  
"Bar code?" I asked.  
  
"We have bar codes etched into our foreheads via laser when we're born," said Quinn. I could see a barcode etched into his forehead.  
  
I went to the living room to check the wedding album. My duplicate also had a barcode etched on his forehead.   
  
"Colin," said Quinn. "You can stay for the night."  
  
So that's what I did. 


	6. Introductions

After I saw the Marines slide to another world,I was taken to a conference room where I met with senior military officers and research  
  
staff. I recognized one of them as Professor Maximilian Arturo.   
  
"Professor Arturo," I said to the heavy bearded man sitting down at the table.   
  
"How did you know me?" he asked.   
  
"I've met you before," I said. "Or rather,your counterpart on the last world I've been to."   
  
"Well,I have not introfuced myself," said the professor. "I am Maximilian Arturo,chief researcher for the Terminal Island facility."   
  
"I attended one of his classes when I was a student at the University of California," said Quinn. "Later,he and I applied for government funding to carry out our research,and it leads here. Now, Mr. Mallory, explain your story."   
  
"On my home world,there was a war between two species of people," I answered. "Humans and kromaggs. My parents sent me to live with their duplicates on another world. My foster parents died when I was young. Last year,I met my blood brother. He was traveling with another version of Maggie Beckett and someone named Rembrandt Brown."   
  
"Did you say Rembrandt Brown?" asked a young man wearing dreadlocks.   
  
"Yeah,that was his name."   
  
"I have all his records. He is a great singer! One of the best,man."   
  
"What is your name?"   
  
"Bennish. Conrad Bennish Junior."   
  
"Back to my story,Mister Bennish. Quinn,that is the Quinn who was born on my home world,told me about my true heritage. He opened my foster mother's locket which had this microdot. When I wore it on my head,I received a message from my birth parents. They told me everything."   
  
"what was the story of my counterpart?" asked Quinn.   
  
"You," I said. "I mean he. He built a sliding machine in 1994. He,Professor Maximilian Arturo,Wade Wells,and Rembrandt slid. Along the way,they puicked up Maggie and lost the professor. Remmy and Wade later returned home,but left Quinn and Maggie behind. Quinn and Maggie made it back,only to find it had been conquered by the kromaggs two months before they got there."   
  
"Kromaggs?" asked General Hunt.  
  
"Yes,after they were driven off my home world,they started to conquer other dimensions," I said to him. "On my home world,sliding technology is much more advanced. They could not return home because of a slidecage which prevents wormholes from opening on their world."   
  
"Any possibility the kromaggs might come here?"   
  
"It is slim. Most worlds I have been to have never seen a kromagg."   
  
"How advanced are their weaponry?"   
  
"Manta ships. Energy weapons. They are pretty advanced."   
  
"Well,we do not have manta ships,but we have a sliding machine and  
  
energy weapons."  
  
"That's good. I have been to worlds which have successfully repelled a kromagg invasion. Their technology was considerably more advanced than many worlds I have been to. I am not familar with the technology of this  
  
world,though."   
  
"This is great," said Maggie. "Not only do we have to deal with the Nazis in this dimension,we have to deal with kromaggs from another  
  
dimension."   
  
"It could be worse," I said to her. "You could be living in a world where the Nazis rule America. I have been to such a world,and it was a  
  
living nightmare. Fiortunmately,I was only there for sixteen hours. Now,tell us about your slides."   
  
"let me expalin this," said Quinn. "This project was started in the fall of 1995. We were researching anti-gravity,but opened this wormhole. This project was militarized and moved to the Terminal Island facility. There,with unlimited funds from the U.S. government,we managed to study the wormhole. We then sent probes through and bring them back. We developed a tracking systems for the wormholes. We sent animals through. Then,on October 20,1996, we sent a human through-the first human to slide from this dimension to another dimension."   
  
"Was it you,Quinn?"   
  
"No,it was then-Captain,now-Major Maggie Beckett."   
  
"Beckett?"   
  
"That is right," said Maggie. "I will go down in history as the first human from this world to slide to another world."   
  
"Anyway,"said Quinn, "after preliminary tests,we decided to send more people through. We explored that world Major Beckett first slid to. We also explored other worlds. Today,we have mapped over one hundred fifty worlds."   
  
"Wow. So what do you do?"   
  
"We monitor them. Aside from our sliding technicians,we also have linguists and historians who visit these parallel worlds. They stay there for weeks or even months,studying the history of that world. They bring back books, newspapers, magazines,and computer software. Sometimes we acquire new technology which we send to the Pentagon. That is why they support this project;new technology acquired from more advanced worlds,siuch as your home world,will give us an edge against the Germans. And of course,there are some worlds we just like to visit for R&R. Instead of having to go to Las Vegas, we can just slide to another world and go to the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino located on the corner of Long Beach and Ocean. I've actually had my picture taken there. This project has given us a new perspective on ourselves,our history,and where we are going. This dwarfs the landing on the moon."   
  
"This is interesating. Can you help me find my friends?" I asked.   
  
"Well," said Quinn. "Do tyou know the coordinates for any weorlds they previously visited?"   
  
"No."   
  
"Okay,we have shown Mister Mallory here about our little secret," says General Hunt.   
  
"I think I need to run some tests on him," said Doctor Davis.   
  
"Tests?" asked Arturo.   
  
"He told me he slid in his sleep."   
  
"If it would help me find my friends,I would like to participate," I said.   
  
So that's what I did.   
  
Dr. Diana Davis took me to a lab. There was this big old machine which  
  
resembled an X-ray machine.   
  
"this device was used back when we sent probes through," said Davis.  
  
"We studied their spectra. Over the years,we improved this device to study other things. Now,I will use this to collect data. It won't hurt,Mister Mallory."   
  
"Okay," I said to her. "Fire away."   
  
Davis went to a control panel and pushed some buttons. Another  
  
technician stood by. I heard a humming sound,and I felt a dry,cold heat on  
  
me. After a minute or so,the humming stopped.   
  
"That's it," said Davis. "You may go."   
  
We all left the lab. An MP escorted me to my new quarters,while Dr. Davis went in the direction of the lab.  
  
I was assigned an room one the base. It was underground. It had a bed and a radio. It even had its own bathroom. I lay down,asnd looked up. At least I had a place to call home. I wondered where my Quinn and my Maggie and my Rembrandt were. I read through an Entertainment Weekly magazine left inn the room. I read that Mariah Carey had her second child with husband Eddie Veder,and that Vanilla Ice was having a concert in Madison Square Garden in New York City. I also read a small article about this world's Rembrandt Brown buying a house in Miami Beach. I went to sleep. I wondered if I would wake up in the same world. 


	7. Colin's Situation

I woke up,and I immediately went up to the office complex on the surface. So far,none of the Marines tried to stop me. My pass was still valid,or they did not know. I went to the office of Diana Davis and waited outside,hoping she wouild recognize me when she comes.   
  
"Colin Mallory," she said to me when she arrived for work. "You're up."   
  
"Just checking to make sure I am in the same world," I said. "What did you find?"   
  
"Only some sort of energy radiating from your body," she said. "It is faint."   
  
"I am radioactive?"   
  
"I brought this geiger counter from the lab." She checked for radiation. "It is so faint I can not detect it with this; it's not sensitive enough. The radiation from your body is lower than that of the normal background radiation. I do not think it will pose a health hazard."   
  
"I haven't had breakfast yet," I said.   
  
"They are serving cereal and bread in the cafeteria," said Davis.  
  
"Better go get it."   
  
So I did.   
  
Later, we were all assembled in the conference room. All of us, myself included,were dressed in suits and ties. Major Maggie Beckett and Major General Alexander Hunt were in their dress uniforms. Then the senator and his associates came.   
  
The senator's name was Dan Lungren.   
  
"Hello there,Senator," said General Hunt. "Welcome to the Terminal Island Marine Corps Logistics Base."  
  
"Always a pleasure,General," replied Lungren. I took a look at the senator. He seemed to be a nice man. He had curly black hair,a big nose,and a big forehead. He had this rough,husky voice which made him seem even more genuine.   
  
"Hello there,Senator Lungren," said Conrad Bennish,who was with us. "I voted for you last year. I really like your speeches"   
  
"Excuse me,Senator," said Quinn. "I knew Mister Bennish for six years,and he is a pothead."   
  
"Pothead?" asked the senator. "You should meet Governor Kubby. THERE'S a pothead for you."   
  
"Senator Lungren,I am Maximilian Arturo," said the professor,"Chief researcher assigned to this project. It is always a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Well,let's get down to business," said Lungren. "Have you gathered any new technoloigies?"   
  
"The engineering staff is studying the new technology right now," said Arturo.   
  
"When can we implement this technology into our society?"   
  
"In a few months. Probably by the beginning of next year. We are still exploring new worlds in search of new ideas."   
  
"Senator," said General Hunt,"I would like you to meet Colin Mallory."   
  
"Hello there,Mister Mallory," said the senator.   
  
"Hello there,senator," I replied.   
  
"Where are you from?"   
  
"El Segundo."   
  
"Nice place."  
  
"Senator," said the general,"Mister Mallory hwere is from another dimension."   
  
"Could you say that again?" asked Lungren.   
  
"Colin Mallory here is friom another world. Look at his forehead  
  
He took a close look at my forehead. "No bar code."   
  
"We did match his fingerprints to a Staff Sergeant Colin Mallory  
  
currently deployed to Egypt. Also,the DNA matches thast of Sergeant Mallory. Minus the barcode and subdermal chip,he is identical to the Colin Mallory native to this world."   
  
"Okay," said Lungren. "Mister Mallory,tell me about yourself."   
  
So I told him the story I told these people earlier. About my birth,my brother,the kromaggs,etc.   
  
"Interesting story," he said.   
  
"I was hoping these people can find my Quinn and my Maggie," I said to him.   
  
"I am sure they will."   
  
"Senator,if I can ask you a question."   
  
"Go ahead."   
  
"How much do you support this project?"   
  
"Very much. When I first hear of it,I thought of it as a new endeavor for this country. You know how this country lagged behind Nazi Germany in the space program. I remember when Ludwig van Houten first stepped on the surface of the moon and planted a swastika banner on the ground. Hitler said that this marks the conquest of the heavens by the superior Aryan race. I was twenty-one when that happened,just a young man,younger than you are now. Like all Americans,I was devastated at the triumph of the Germans and the triumph of Hitler. When I found out about this,I supported this because we were studying the basic nature of reality and unlocking the secrets of God's universe. And now,with interdimensional travel,we are expanding our horizons. We are light years ahead of the Nazis in interdimensional travel. Besides exploring new worlds,it gives us new perspectives into our world,our history,and ourselves."   
  
"That's good."   
  
"Unfortunately,many on Capitol Hill do not share my forward-looking perspective. They want this to pay off. They want payoff in resources and technology. In Senate subcommittee hearings,there were talks of abolishing this project. They said it is better spent on weapons to use to prevent the spread of fascism. But they just don't understasnd how important this is. The Germans beat us in the space race;we sure as hell will not let them beat us in this race."   
  
"You know,Senator,I've been to worlds where the Nazis were totally defeated in the Second World War."   
  
"I have read of such worlds."   
  
Senator Lungren left the conference room along with the others. I said to Arturo,"What was this space race about? I mean,I am new here,and I have not read much about it."   
  
"The Germans beat us in every endeavor of space exploration," said the professor. "In 1953,they laucnhed the first satellite into orbit. We did not do so until 1955. In 1958,they sent the first man into orbit. We did not do so until 1961. In 1966,they sent a man to the moon. We did not do so until 1970. Every time the Germans made a milestone in space exploration,Hitler used this as proof his Aryan race is superior. Now we are ahead of the Nazis in one field of exploration."   
  
"But why is it kept such a big secret?" I asked.   
  
"National security," said Arturo. "Still, Dan Lungren does not want this project to be kept secret. He wants to unveil this publicly. He knows we found a world where sliding technology is public. Now let's go. I'm hungry."   
  
So we went to eat lunch. We went to a cafeteria. I had some spaghetti,garlic bread,and a Coke. I sat with Quinn,Maggie,and Bennish. I remembered that the Maggie I had been sliding with for the past year was widowed.   
  
"Are you married?" I asked her.   
  
"Was married," she replied. "We were divorced in 1997. His name was Steven Jensen. He was a scientist."   
  
"Was he involved in this project?"   
  
"No,he wasn't."   
  
Maggie just looked down and twirled the spaghetti noodles on her fork. I couild tell she still misses her ex-husband.   
  
I loooked at Conrad Bennish. My brother told me a lot about him. Bennish was a classmate and friend of Quinn's. My brother never found out what happened to the Bennish of Earth Prime. He hoped that Bennish found the sliding machine in his basement and slid before the kromaggs took San Francisco.   
  
"Are you married,Mister Bennish?" I asked.   
  
"No way man," he replied. "I've had enough women to last me a lifetime. I'm not like Quinn here. He just had to get hitched,you know what I mean?"  
  
"I've been to a world where I saw my counterpart get married."   
  
"Did you get to kiss the bride?"   
  
"Well,yes. Have you slid before?"   
  
"Yeah ,I accompanied one of the research teams to another world. In that world,the Dodgers won the pennant three straight years. Also,the Cold War was between the U.S. and Russia instead of between the U.S. and Germany. After sliding was determined to be safe,we civilians got to visit these worlds."   
  
"I guess having a base of operations is useful. For me and my friends,we had no base of operations. We just slid from one world to the next,never knowing what to expect."   
  
"I wouldn't like that,dude. It would be scary."   
  
"Sometimes it was. You wouldn't know how many narrow escapes I had in the past year."   
  
So I told Bennish about all the adventures I had. Including my last one,where I giot separated from my friends.   
  
"So Colin," said Quinn. "Tell me about myself. I mean,my counterpart. Your brother."   
  
"Well,he was a scientist like you. When he was eleven,his father died. He later became an athlete in high school,playing football and baseball. He was a graduate student at the University of California when he invented sliding. He was a great guy."   
  
"Not surprising," said my brother's duplicate. I saw Arturo come to the table.   
  
"Did you meet the version of me that slid with your brother?" he asked.   
  
"No,I replied. "He was killed about a year before my brother found me. But from what he told me about him,you act just like him. Your  
  
demeanor,your attitude,is just like my brother's professor."   
  
He left the table,and I continued my lunch with Quinn,Maggie,and Bennish.  
  
That night,we went to a pub in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach. It was in this neighborhood where Quinn Mallory lives. I was in a sedan riding with Quinn,Maggie,Conrad Bennish,and Diana Davis.   
  
"Did you find something else?" I asked Davis. Earlier today,I had taken more tests with that X-ray machine.   
  
"It can wait till tomorrow morning," she said.   
  
So we arrived on Second Street,the main street running thorugh Belmont Shore. We got off,and the driver left to park the car in one of the parking lots behind the buildings. I looked around. There were plenty of cars going in both directions on Second Street. I was in front of a gym called the Belmont Athletic Club. Another car pulled up,and Maximilian Arturo,Alexander Hunt,and Dan Lungren stepped out.   
  
"It's this way,Colin," said Quinn. He went up a flight of stairs  
  
located to the right of the entrance to the gym.   
  
As it turned out,the bar was on the second floor. The bouncer asked us to show ID. He used a bar code scanner to scan the bar codes on our foreheads.  
  
"I don't have a bar code," I said.   
  
"It does not matter. You look old enough to me," he replied.   
  
The bar was dimly lit. There were a dozen people in here,all having drinks. the room had a faint smell of marijuana smoke. There was rock music playing. There were sports being shown on the various televisions in this room. We went to a bar,and Quinn spoke to a pretty blond-haired bartender.   
  
"So Quinn," she said. "what do you want?"   
  
"Get me a Murphy's Irish Stout. For me and my brother here."   
  
"Brother?"   
  
"Colin Mallory. He is on leave from the Marines."   
  
The lady bartender scanned him,and then brought him two tall glasses of  
  
beer. It was dark. I drank it,and it was rich. I liked this beer. I heard  
  
Bennish order a Corona.   
  
"Wait a minute," said the bartender. "Are you Dan Lungren? That senator on TV?   
  
"that is right,Miss," replied Lungren.   
  
"I voted for you."   
  
"Well,I want to order a pitcher of Budweiser."   
  
"Coming right this way,Senator."   
  
So she gave Senator Lungren a big old pitcher of Budweiser,and we all sat at a long table,having a few brews. Bennish took out some joints,and gave one to me.   
  
"I never liked those things," said Lungren.   
  
"Aw come on,man," said Bennish. "It's not like it's gonna kill you. I mean,.more people died from beer than from pot."   
  
Just then,I saw an advertisement for Joe Camel reefers on the television. I heard a message saying how pot makes your troubles go away.  
  
Suddenly,a fellow from another table went up to our table.   
  
"Dan Lungren?" he asked. "What is a high-flying senator like you doing in a joint like this?"   
  
"I didn't know you're a regular here,Mike," the senator replied. "These  
  
people are treating me here."   
  
"Who is this?" I asked.   
  
"This is Michael," said Lungren. "He works at my home office in downtown  
  
Long Beach."   
  
I looked at the guy. He seemed a bit younger than me. He has short black hair parted on the left. He is wearing blue denim jeans and a T-shirt with a bunch of Japanese cartoon characters on it,with the caption Dragonball Z.  
  
"How are you doing?" I asked. "I'm Colin."   
  
"I'm Michael," he replied. Mike here seemed to be a geniune fellow. "You  
  
know,Colin,one of these days,I am gonna be in the Capitol alongside Dan  
  
Lungren here. In 2002,I will be old enough to run for the House of  
  
Representatives."   
  
"I'll be supporting you, Michael," said Dan Lungren as he sipped his beer.  
  
Lungren left our table and joined Michael.  
  
"So Quinn," I said to my brother's counterpart from this world,"how do you like your job?"   
  
"It's a fine job," he said. "Exciting. I am glad to know my work made history. That we beat the Nazis. We also get to explore new rolds right here on Earth. Same planet,different dimension. But we always have a way home."   
  
"What if you miss the slide?"  
  
"We have an emergency extraction point on Terminal Island just in case such a thing happens. If that happens,we go there and wait for the people on this side to open a vortex."   
  
After a while ,Lungren went back to our table. I decided to ask him some quesations.   
  
"You married?" I asked.   
  
"Yes,to my wife,Bobbie. We have three children-Jeff,Kelly,and Kathleen," he replied.   
  
"When were you elected?"   
  
"In 1992. After my term as state controller expired in 1990,I ran for the Senate but lost. People said I was political road-kill. Well,I showed  
  
them. In 1992,I won by a larger margin than I lost in the 1990 Senate race. It goes to show that you can't keep Dan Lungren down."   
  
"By the way,Senator," said Maximilian Arturo. "There is something I wanted to show you."   
  
Arturo gave Lungren a magazine. The cover read,"Dan Lungren-1998 Man of the Year."   
  
"Thanks," said Lungren. "At least I know I am appreciated in some places." He read through the magazine. "You mean here I work for the king. Of America?"   
  
"It seems you were the king's attorney general on that world."   
  
"I will keep this. Bobbie will surely be surprised. Here,Kurt Cobain was named Man of the Year in 1998."   
  
"You know,"I said. "Maybe there is a world where I became Man of the Year."  
  
We all giggled. Apparently the pot and beer were getting to us. We all relaxed,like we did not have a care in the world.  
  
"You've been quite,Dr. Davis," I said to Diana Davis.   
  
"I am not that talkative," replied Davis. "If you are asking me,I am not married,and I like my work. It is exciting."   
  
"Well,my work has always been exciting," said Maggie. "I was a fighter pilot in the Corps before I became a slider. You can't imagine the rush of being strapped in to an F-14. Firing missiles and laser beams at targets. You know,if we go to war with the Germans again,I will be in that cockpit,shooting down and destroying the enemy planes."   
  
So we continued all talking. We laughed frequently and smiled,not having a care in the world-or any other.   
  
The next morning,I went to Davis's office.   
  
"So whaty with the tests?" I asked.   
  
"We now know how you slid in your sleep," she said. "you see,matter is held onto a particular dimension,like electrons are held onto atomic orbitals. If an electron gains enough energy,it can leave the orbital. If matter on this world gains enough energy,like when we slide,it can leave the bonds of this dimension and travel to another one."   
  
"So what happened with me?"   
  
"The boinds between matter and a dimension are normally stable. But  
  
your bond with this dimebnsion is unstable."   
  
"What?"   
  
"This radiation from your body is the energy release from the bonds breaking down. It is decaying exponentially. Soon,it will become too weak to hold you here. That is why you slid from that Arab world to thius world without a timer. You,in effect,are your own timer."   
  
"How did this happen?"   
  
"You said there was a collision in the wormhole? It probably put you in  
  
this unstable state. For lack of better word,you are unstuck, man.  
  
Eventually,you will leave this universe and slide to a new universe. You realize how exciting this is. I mean, unstuck matter, matter that rnadomly slides to other dimensions on its own. It was only theoretical."   
  
"It's not theoretical anymore," I said. "So when do I slide out?"  
  
"By my calculations,six days."  
  
I just could not believe what Doctor Diana Davis had told me. I was unstuck. I was now sliding aimlessly from world to world,without any timer except my own body. In six days,I will slide out of this world and end up in a new world.   
  
Well,I figured,at least I can't miss the slide. No worry of being  
  
stuck for twenty-nine years.   
  
We went to the conference room to discuss my situation.   
  
"Unstuck,you say?" asked Maximilian Arturo.   
  
"That is right," replied Davis. "Colin is not held to this dimension  
  
with stable dimensional bonds like we are. In six days,he will slide from  
  
this world and end up in another world."   
  
"What happens after that?" asked Quinn.   
  
"He will stay on that world until the dimensional bonds become weak and he slides again. Then the cycle continues."   
  
"How do we get him unstuck?" asked Major General Alexander Hunt.   
  
"I don't know," said Davis. "We only have six days to figure it out."   
  
"Wait,"said Major Maggie Beckett. "The dimensional bionds reset themselves after each slide. What igf we slide colin to another world,then bring him back here? We can keep him here."   
  
"Unfortunately,we can not determine how much time Colin will have on  
  
another world if we slide him," said Davis. "What if we slide him to  
  
another world,with the timer set to one minute,and the dimensional bonds  
  
break down in thirty seconds?"   
  
"There must be something we can do," said Conrad Bennish. "I mean,sliding randomly,without any way to control where you go."   
  
Diana Davis handed Arturo a lab report concerning this issue.   
  
"We shall all work to find a way to get Colin Mallory stuck again," said Arturo.   
  
"What will I do?" I asked.   
  
"Well,you have six days,man," said Bennish. "Maybe you should go out and go sightseeing."   
  
"Sightseeing?"   
  
"You can visit the Titanic,go to the beach. Cabrillo State Beach is just across the bay in San Pedro. We'll take care of things here. You relax."   
  
So that's what I did.   
  
First thing I did was to go to the Long Beach harbor to see the ship the Titanic. It was a huge ship,with four pipes where smoke and steam would come out. The ship was used a hotel. I remember my brother Quinn told me that on his world,a ship called the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in 1912.   
  
I went to the building attached to the ship and signed up for a tour. The tour guide,a young lady with culry black hair,led me and the others on the way. We crossed a bridge and entered one of the lower decks. She was dressed in a black suit with a plastic nbametag pinned to her chest.  
  
"This ship was commissioned in 1912," said the tour guide. It made its maiden voyage to New York City,arriving on April 16,1912. It was the most advanced ship when it was buiolt. It was designed so it would not sink even if three of its compartments were flooded. Now this ship had a long history. It carried munitions during the First World War,avoiding the German U-Boats. In 1945,it rescued the passengers of the Queen Mary,which was sunk in the north Atlantic by a U-boat. In 1966,it was finally anchored here in Long Beach harbor."   
  
As she talked ,we walked around the ship. We visited conference rooms,ballrooms,the passenger and crew quarters. We went up to the sun deck where I saw the blue sky and smelled the salty air of the harbor. I could imagine the passengers of the ship as they rode during the ship's maiden voyage. I could imagine them looking out into the ocean,seeing the waves. I could imagine one of them standing at the bow and looking at the setting sun. I could imagine the orchestra playing in the ballroom,with the passengers dancing.   
  
I felt sorry for the passengers of the Titanic on Earth Prime,where it sank and everyone drowned.   
  
We continued down to the shops and restaurants. The tour guide mentioned there will be a wedding reception here tonight. She said the Titanic was the most popular place for wedding receptions in the South Bay area.   
  
After visiting this great ship ,I left and went back to my quarters in the Terminal Island facility. The Marine Corps gave me a cable TV. I watched the channel known as MTV,with its music videos and stuff. I watched music videos from Warren G ,Pearl Jam, and Fiona Apple. then I saw it.   
  
It was a duet. Starring Mariah Carey. And Rembrandt Brown.   
  
"Remmy," I said. They were singing a ballad called "One Fine Day." I notice Mariah Carey was a little chubby,which I figured was from her pregnancy with her husband Eddie Vedder of the band Pearl Jam. It was so wonderful to hear Remmy sing,even though it was not the Remmy I had been sliding with.   
  
Later after dinner,I went back to my quarters. Quinn had told me that I should leave it up to them. I knew I was going to slide next Thursday. I sat down,and watched Behind the Music on VH-1. The guest was Rembrandt Brown,which was why I watched it.   
  
I saw Remmy talking about his childhood,his service in the Navy,and his days with the Spinning Tops in the 1970's. After the Tops broke up in 1987, Remmy pursued a successful solo career. He had a solo album that went double platinum. He reunited with his Spinning Top buddies in 1995 top make another album. He sang duets with Vanilla Ice ,MC Hammer, Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Boyz II Men, and Mariah Carey,whose music video duet I saw on MTV earlier today. This Remmy talked with the same voice and tone as my Remmy.   
  
"Did you ever consider doing a duet with Elvis Presley?" asked Tabitha Soren,the host of Behind the Music.   
  
"The King of Rock and Roll and the King of R&B," Remmy replied. (It brought a flashback to the time Remmy and Elvis performed on stage at the Shrine Auditorium.)"Well,Elvis and I habve not made a deal. I am recording another duet with that singer Selena. It shoudl be out in October. As for Elvis,maybe we can get the King of Rap Vanilla Ice and then we can be a duet of the three kings." Remmy then laughed his distinctive laugh I was most familiar with."   
  
As I watched the interview on Behind the Music,I wondered where the real Rembrandt Brown is. I wonder if they found a way to find me. Remmy must be worried about me. I hope he is safe. So at night,I went to sleep,wondering where he and Quinn and Maggie are.  
  
Anyhow,for the weekend I went sightseeing in this world. i remember the times I went sightseeing with my brother,especially when there was plenty of time on the timer and there was no one after us. I visited Signal Hill,a large hill in the middle of the city. I also visited El Dorado Park and the Bolsa Chica State Beach. When I was not sightseeing,I would stay in my quarters and watch TV,on account there was nothing else to do. Meanwhile,Diana Davis continued to run tests on me.I asked Davis  
  
what was going on,and she said the energy radiating from my body as a result of the dimensional bonds lsoing energy is increasing,indicating that the bonds are decaying. It was the same type of energy that radiates from the wormhole,but it has a unique frequency. Hopefully,the frequency of the radiation will give a clue as to how to get me stuck again. I also met with this fellow from the National Security Council, Mr. Fox, and I told him about the kromaggs.  
  
On Wednesday morning,I was called into Davis's office.   
  
"Any progress?" I asked.   
  
"Not enough to get you stuck here," she said. "It is likely you will slide out before we can figure out a way."   
  
"And then what? I just slide on without you?"   
  
"Here is something for you," she said. She gave me a digital watch. I read numbers on it. It read thirty-seven hours,twenty-nine minutes,and fifty six seconds. And it was counting down. It reminded me of the timer.  
  
"This watch will tell you when you are ready for departure.It also has a tracking signal which will allow me to track you. In about  
  
thirty-seven hours,which is about 11:00 tomorrow night,you will slide."  
  
So that's what I did. 


	8. The Next World

Anyway,on Thursday,the day I was scheduled to slide out,I met with the research and military staff of this facility. I had not done much the last night,except see the movie "Altitude". The movie was about a transcontinental passenger jet flying from Seattle to Miami which had a bomb that would explode if the plane dropped below thirty thousand feet. A pro-Nazi terrorist group was blackmailing the government for the release of their leader plus one billion dollars. Fortunately,there was a U.S. marshal on board,who managed to defuse the bomb. Some actor named Luke Perry played the marshal, and I had seen him before on TV on this show about a bunch of rich kids. Well back to my story. I was meeting with the project staff.  
  
"Here is the game plan," said Dr. Davis. "Five minutes before your departure, we will be scanning you using every instrument. If you are really unstuck, we want to take as many readings as we can."  
  
When my watch counted down to five minutes, I reported to the lab. Quinn was there, along with Dr. Davis and Professor Arturo and some other researchers. The technicians were checking al the equipment, which I guessed were X-Ray machines, MRI scanners, and infrared scanners. There was all this humming.   
  
I looked at my watch. One minute.  
  
"I'm detecting radio waves coming from his body," said one of the white-coated technicians.  
  
Thirty seconds. I noticed my skin was glowing. I saw several Marine MP's bust in, with their M-16 automatic rifles. Quinn and the others went behind a barricade for safety reasons.  
  
"Ten seconds," said Quinn. "Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One."  
  
Then there was this buzzing sound, a brillaint flash, and a brief shock. I felt like I was falling.  
  
Then I felt solid ground.   
  
I got up and looked around. The surface I was standing on is made of concrete. I looked up and I saw overhead lights. I looked around, and saw cars parked in some parking spaces, while other spaces were empty.  
  
I was in a parking garage. I was in a parking garage in another dimension.  
  
I checked my watch. It had reset itself. It looked like I was going to be here for a long time.  
  
My first order of business is to look for Quinn Mallory and hope that this version is familiar with sliding. I went to some glass doors which led to the lobby of an office building, but the lobby was locked. It was just past 11 PM. So I went out of the garage and looked for a hotel.   
  
The buildings had a similar architecture as the buildings in the previous world. I had not moved very far in space, this was certainly downtown Long Beach. I walked a few blocks and then I arrived at the Long Beach Hilton.  
  
The lobby was mostly empty, except for a desk clerk sitting behind the desk. There were some plush chairs for guests. After looking around the lobby, I found a pay phone mounted on a wall.  
  
I went to the pay phone, operated by GTE. I scanned through the GTE phone book.  
  
Quinn Mallory was not listed.   
  
If I had access to a computer and the Internet, I could widen my search for Quinn. But the library wasn't open at this time.   
  
So I would have to wait until morning. And I didn't know if my currency would be accepted here, so I couldn;'t even score a room in a cheap motel, let alone the Hilton.   
  
I guess I'd have to sleep under a bridge. I did that with Quinn and Rembrandt and Maggie, when we slid in late at night and we had no money.   
  
I went to a brochure stand, the kind they have in hotel lobbies. I found out I could learn a lot from hotel brochures, so I would read the brochures whether in the Dominion, the Chandler, or some motel in the Central Valley. I saw brochures for Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and other places like restaurants.  
  
I looked above the brochure stand, and there were posters with people's photos on them. It was clear they were wanted posters. I read a wanted poster for a Michael Hurley, who was wanted for crimes against the state.   
  
and I read another poster. I recognized the name and the face.  
  
It was Maggie Beckett.  
  
The next morning, I woke up hungry, very hungry. I had not eaten since before I slid here. This was a feeling that I was used to, as sliders like me and Quinn always had money problems.   
  
It was only a ten minute walk to the Long Beach Public Library, which would have reference materials to give me the basics of this world. I noticed most of the cars on Ocean Boulevard were Fords and Volkswagens, with a few Mercedes among them.   
  
The library was adjacent to the city hall. Hundreds of people were walking in the plaza located in front of the city hall. As I was heading to the librabry, I saw two people bump into each other.  
  
"Excuse me," one of them said. "I'm sorry, sir."  
  
"Watch where you're going, you stupid nigger," said the other guy.  
  
I stopped, and then tapped the fellow on the shoulder.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"I think you owe that man an apology," I said.   
  
"That nigger bumped into me. He owes me an apology."  
  
"You ought to treat people with respect. It's not like he meant to hurt you."  
  
"You some nigger-loving race traitor?"  
  
"What's going on here?" a voice asked.  
  
I looked, and I saw a uniformed police officer.  
  
"This nigger here assaulted me," said the man.  
  
"I didn't mean to bump into him," said the Negro. "It was an accident."  
  
The officer hit the Negro man on the back of his legs with a baton.  
  
"Don't talk back to me, boy," said the police officer, sneering. "You should be in the ghetto, nigger."  
  
"I have a pass, officer. I work here."  
  
"I'm taking you downtown, nigger. We can do this the easay way or the hard way. I don't even know why we allow you niggers to leave the ghetto. You should stay there, away from us Aryans."  
  
I left the scene and entered the librarty. It had two levels, with shelves full of books. A pretty blond-haired librarian sat at the front desk.   
  
"Excuse me," I asked. "is there a terminal for the Internet."  
  
"Yes, sir, there is," she replied. "Terminal use is limited to thirty minutes when there are people waiting in line."  
  
I went over to one of the library's Internet terminals. The Internet was helpful in finding Quinn's duplicates, especially if they lived at the other end of the state. Before using the terminal, I had to look into a retinal scanner. Then I was in, with the Long Beach Public Library Web Site on the window. Within minutes, I was at the 411.com web site.  
  
After searching for Quinn Mallory, I found out that he lives in Fremont, California. A small map showed that Fremont is across the bay from San Francisco.  
  
I typed in my own name. The number and address corrwesponded to the address of my brother's home.   
  
Before I would go to Fremont to seek my brother's duplicate's help, I went to look for a book on American history, to learn more about its background.  
  
It would be a sobering history lesson.  
  
Even on my home world, history books reflect the bias of the author. This book's biases made it alsmost unreliable. I was able to deduce the historical background of this country.  
  
In 1936, there was a coup known as the Great Aryan Revolution which overthrew the previous regime. The leaders of this Revolution followed the same ideology as the National Socialists in Germany. The United States and Germany were allies in World War II. France was conquered, and Fifth Columnists installed a pro-Nazi King in Britain. After the atomic bomb was invented, Russia was endlessly pounded with such things until it became a charred radioactive wasteland.   
  
the Revolutionary Government set up a racial caste system. Only Aryans, which is what the book calls white people, had rights. Non-Aryans were confined to ghettos and could only leave with a pass. The Jews were exterminated during the war. Censorship was imposed.  
  
The book tells much about the opinions of the author. The author described Jews as parasites who sucked off the American people, and described Negroes as baranbric, violent savages that should be kept on a leash. Before the Revolution, the book claimed, Jews owned all the wealth, while leaving Aryans scraping by to just get food and shelter. The book described post-Revolution America as a golden age paradise.  
  
I wonder what other books read. A biology textbook described the Aryan race as the pinnacle of human evolution. Apparently, the ideals of the Great Aryan Revolution manifest themselves in science textbooks too.  
  
Enougjh of this now. I must meet with Quinn, while I still have time.  
  
The ride to Fremont on an Amtrak train was much better than my hitchhiking from San Francisco to Long Beach on the previous Earth. Fortunately, there was a Red Cross clinic in downtown Long Beach which was buying blood. I remember a sign asking readers to donate blood in service of the Aryan race. I collcted one hundred dollars for a few pints of blood.  
  
I passed Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Salinas. I had to make a transfer at San Jose, before boarding a commuter train leading to Fremont.  
  
After getting off Fremont, I went into a Ford Crown Victoria taxicab which took me to Quinn's place. I paid the cab driver $14.95. The whole trip only cost thirty dollars, including meals.  
  
Quinn lived in a duplex. I could see a BMW parked near the house. I remember that my brother owned a BMW. It was about six o'clock, and maybe Quinn was home.   
  
I wlked up the steps to the front door, and rang the doorbell.  
  
Minutes later, Quinn answered the phone.  
  
"Colin," he said. "What do you want?"  
  
I noticed he did not seem too happy. "I hope you can help me," I said. "You ever heard of sliding?"  
  
"Did you get hurt sliding down a slide at the playground?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.  
  
"What if you can find brand new worlds right here on Earth? Same planet, different dimension?"  
  
"You're talking of parallel universes."  
  
"So you know what I'm talking about."  
  
"Yes, I took a course in quantum mechanics. You came all the way here just to talk to me about parallel universes?"  
  
"That's right, Quinn, because I'm from a parallel universe."  
  
"Colin, I don't have time for this. And since when did you think you were welcome here?"  
  
"Who is it, Quinn?" asked a voice.  
  
"It's my brother, Conrad," said Quinn. He the said to me,"Why are you here?"  
  
"At least listen to me, Quinn," I pleaded. I think that he and my duplicate are not exactly on speaking terms. "I'm from a parallel universe. Your counterpart built a machine that generates a wormhole. During one of our travels, I got separated. I am now traveling from one universe to another, without any external equipment. I was just hoping that you had the means to help me get back with my brother."  
  
"Well, I've never been to a parallel universe."  
  
"So you never built a wormhole-generating machine?"  
  
"No. Are you BATF guys all dumb?"  
  
I was about to leave, but I then wanted to know why this version of Quinn was hostile to me. "I'm just a duplicate of your brother, but you could tell me what your problem is with him. I can tell you are not getting along. Did he do anything wrong?"  
  
"Well, I don't know," said Quinn, sarcastically. "Well, maybe it is the fact that you turned in our parents and destroyed our family. Of course, you would not consider it wrong. you were just doijng your duty for the state and for the Aryan race. Mom and Dad weren't race traitors. They were loyal Americans and loyal Aryans. They instileld in us the values of the Revolution. But you had to report them, and now they're dead thanks to you!"  
  
He then slammed the door shut.   
  
I guess it was time to move on to the next world, hoping the next Quinn could help me, or at least have an inclination to do so. 


	9. Electroshock Interrogation

According to my watch, I was gonna be in this world for a few more days, so I kight as well take in the sights. I took the BART train across the bay to San Francisco and stayed in a motel near the ghetto where the San Francisco Negro population lived. Of course, the locals did not refer to them as Negroes. I noticed that residents of the ghetto were reuqired to show papers to a guard before leaving the place. It was like a prison or something.   
  
I did not have enough money to remain here until my slide. I would either have to find some odd jogb, or else live like a bum. I stayed with my brother's duplicate last time, and before that I took a temp job at the Dominion Hotel.   
  
I had a three-piece meal from Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner, and I washed it down with a Coke. After watching a couple of cable shows from the TV, I went to sleep.  
  
The next morning, I got the free Kellogg's Fruit Loops and Sunkist orange juice the motel serves to its guests. I decided to leave the motel.  
  
If there was one thing I learned about sliding, it is that loitering is acceptable in public libraries. It was then, while walking along the sidewalk near the ghetto, that I saw a flier pinned to a wooden telephone pole.  
  
It advertised something called the Good Old Boys' Roundup, taking place in the Dominion Hotel today.   
  
I decided to check this event out. they might have free food, and maybe I'll meet someone offering a job.   
  
I hopped a ride on a cable car. After a few minutes, I was on Van Ness Avenue. In the distance, I can see the buolding that houses the Dominion.  
  
I approached it. The Dominion looks the same as it does in other dimensions. I did notice a sign reading, "NO NIGGERS ALLOWED." There were also fliers advertising the Good Old Boys' Roundup.  
  
I walked into the lobby. There was a table in the lobby, where guests apparently registered. I went to a hall where the banquet rooms are. I remember one time when I went here because Quinn and Remmy wanted to see Wade Wells, whose wedding reception was in one of these rooms. Anyway, there were various civic organizations here. I took a program for the events. It seesm that the BATF hosts this thing. There are speeches given by radio personalities, politicians, and appointed officials. I noticed some teens from the California Hitler Youth selling cookies. There were books being sold, claiming that the Jews were still out there, conspiring against America and the Aryan people.   
  
"Mallory," someone said.   
  
I turned, and I saw a big man wearing a suit. I recognized him as Alexander Hunt, whose duplicate I met in the previous Earth.   
  
"Mr. Hunt," I said. I noticed that Hunt was with two other men, both wearing black suits.   
  
"Mallory, I thought you'd dress up for this event," said Hunt. "Did you bring your nigger-hunting license?"  
  
"Uh, no. I forgot it."  
  
"Mallory, I'd introduce you to Director Jim Moore. Mr. Moore, this is Agent Colin Mallory, one of my best field agents."  
  
"Pleasure to meet you," said Director Moore.  
  
"You too, sir," I said, shaking his hand.  
  
"It was Mallory here who busted the race traitor Hurley and his people," said Hunt. "He is loyal to his country and his race. When he was seventeen, he turned in his parents."  
  
"I did?" I asked.  
  
"Of course, Colin. They were confined to the Presidio where they met the fate that race traitors deserve."  
  
"I wish I had agents as devoted as Agent Mallory," said the other man with Moore and Hunt.  
  
"This is Eugene Rightmeyer, from the Oklahoma City office," said Hunt.   
  
I shook Rightmeyer's hand.   
  
"Hello, Director," said another man.  
  
"You in the BATF?" I asked.  
  
"No, Mallory," said Director Moore. "This is Senator Jim Kennemur."  
  
"Hello there," Kennemur said to me.  
  
"Hi, Senator," I said.  
  
"Mallory here just busted an anti-Aryan terrorist cell here in San Francisco," said Hunt.   
  
"I heard there were niggers in that cell," said Kennemur.  
  
"Yes. I wonder if Maggie Beckett was laying with them."  
  
"Beckett?"  
  
"She was Hurley's aide," said Hunt. "Now they will soon go to the Presidio."  
  
"I think I'll check out some of the other stuff," I said.   
  
I went to check some of the other tables. It was then I saw someone familiar.  
  
Wade Wells was sitting behind a table, marked for the League of Aryan Women. Two other women were with Wade. Onmme was a blonde with her hair tied in a ponytail, the other had long brown hair and looked that the lady from those Noxzema commercials. From their nametags I could tell that theri names are Stephanie and Natalie.  
  
"I'm Colin Mallory from the BATF," I said.   
  
"Are you interested in our organization?" Wade asked.  
  
"Well, what do you do?"  
  
"We teach women to excel," said Wade. "We women are just as important as men. In addition, we also raise Aryan children and instill them with Aryan values."  
  
I decided to take a brochure, and then attend one of the events.  
  
The event was a speech by a radio show host named David Dahlman. He was also the author of a comic strip called Rack Jite. He made this speech about how Jews have been at war with the Aryan race and how we had to keep up our guard against them.   
  
"Mallory," I heard Hunt's voice say.  
  
"Yes, sir?" I asked. I noticed two big BATF agents were flanking him.  
  
"I want to know who you are, and how you impersonated my best agent."  
  
"Impersonate?" I asked. "Me?"  
  
"that's right," I heard someone say. I looked, and I saw a reflection of myself.  
  
I saw the local Colin Mallory.   
  
"He's the imposter!" I shouted. "He stole my license."  
  
"There was a delay on the Bayshore Freeway," said local Colin. "Then I found someone impersonating me."  
  
"I'm the real Colin Mallory!" I shrieked. "He's the impostor."  
  
"Okay, then," said Hunt. "What date did you turn your parents in?"  
  
"Uh..," I stuttered. then I saw my duplicate whisper into Hunt's ear.  
  
"Arrest him," said Hunt. The two agents siuddenyl held me.  
  
Colin then approached me, and hit me in the stomach.  
  
I was immediately booked, had my picture and finerprint taken, and then was put in a federal jail, where people accused of federal crimes are held until bail is posted or trial begins. I sat in my cell for hours, with a U.S. marshal guarding the door. There were bright loights in my holding cell, and loud music played.   
  
Then my duplicate came in. I took a closer look at his eyes. I could see there was no compassion in him, none at all.   
  
"Let's take him to interrogation," he said.  
  
I was taken to this dark room, lit by a single ceiling lamp. I was tied to this rack, and electrodes were placed on my tewmples. My duplicate apparently was the one leading this interrogation.  
  
"Tell me your name," he said.  
  
"My name is Colin Mallory," I said.  
  
And then I felt a sharp, electrical shock to my forehead.   
  
"Tell me the truth," he said.  
  
"My name is Colin Mallory."  
  
Then came another electric shock. I could see a grin on his face; I could tell he enjoyed administering the electric shocks as much as he enjoyed asking the questions.   
  
"I will increase the voltage until you tell the truth," said Mallory. "I happen to know that your fingerprints are identical to mine. How could this be?"  
  
I knew that at the slightest provocation would result in another electric shock. I did not know whether or not the next shock would be fatal. "Okay, Colin. Listen. Please, just listen. I was born in San Francisco. My parents died when I was young, and I eventually settled in El Segundo. A year ago, I finally met my brother Quinn. He told he he comes from another dimension. He had built a machine which can open a portal to another dimension."  
  
Colin did not shock me. "So why do you have my name? My fingerprints?"  
  
"These dimensions are not completely separate. They influence one another. That is why the two of us are, well, alike."  
  
Then I felt another electric shock.   
  
"Other dimensions," said my duplicate. "That's just Jewish science. Let me show you what Aryan science can do."  
  
Then he delivered another electric shock. I could tell the voltage is increasing.   
  
"I spoke with your brother, Quinn. Yout turned in your parents. Why did you turn in your parents?"  
  
Colin looked at me, with his eyes, eyes devoid of compassion or mercy. "My parents were traitors to the United States and to the Aryan race."  
  
"And how did they betray their race?" I asked.  
  
"They questioned racial policy. Loyalty to the Aryan race means standing behind the leaders of our race. Sedition is punishable by death. there is no room on Earth for race traitors!"  
  
"And who told you the Aryan race is superior? Who told you to hate Jews?"  
  
"My parents, my teachers, my country's leaders told me. I've had enough of this."  
  
Tghen he turned up the juice. The whole universe shook before I blacked out.  
  
The next thing I knew, I was being dragged back to my cell by U.S. marshals. The local Colin Mallory was not done with me. He started beating me with a rubber truncheon. I felt every brutal blow  
  
"That's enough, Mallory," I heard someone say. I looked and say Agent Alexander Hunt.  
  
Then Colin looked at me. I could see the hate in his eyes, hate like I have never seen before.  
  
At no time did he resemble me less.  
  
The next day was the day of my trial. I was brought before the court of Judge Joseph Wapner. The court looked basically the same as any other court. My hands and feet were cuffed, and I was escorted by two U.S. marshals.  
  
"Court is now in session," said the bailiff, Douglas Llewelyn. "The Honorable Joseph Wapner presiding."  
  
"Mr. Colin Mallory," said the judge. "How do you plead?"  
  
"I plead not guilty, your Honor," I said.  
  
"Trial will start immediately."  
  
"Your Honor," I said. "I'm not ready. I do';t have my counsel."  
  
"You are on trial for crimes against the Aryan race. Counsel is forbidden."  
  
"That's not fair!" I protested.  
  
"One more outburst and I'll hold you in contempt!"  
  
I sat down silently. I looked across and saw the prosecutor, a Ross J. Kelly.  
  
"Defendant Mallory," said Wapner, "did you commit crimes against the Aryan race?"  
  
"No, your Honor," I replied.  
  
"Are you a clone created by the Jews?"  
  
"I am not a clone, sir."  
  
"Did you infiltrate the Good Old Boys' Roundupaty the Dominion Hotel yesterday?"  
  
"No, your Honor."  
  
"But you were there."  
  
"It was a public event."  
  
"You used the identity of a BATF agent."  
  
"He and I have the same name, your Honor."  
  
"Are you mocking this court, Defendant Mallory?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why were you at the Dominion Hotel?"  
  
"I saw a flier for the Good Old Boys' Roundup. I checked it out. Some of the BATF agents mistook me for the other Colin Mallory."  
  
"Mr. Mallory, where do you live?"  
  
"I've been a transient for over a year, since I left El Segundo."  
  
"there will be no futher questions for the defendant at this time. Prosecutor, you may call your first witness."  
  
"the prosecution calls Miss Natalie Nassau," said Ross J. Kelly.  
  
Then I saw Noxzema girl take the stand.  
  
"I was with the League of Aryan Women for five years," said Nassau. "this was my third good Old Boys' Roundup. I went to the ones in New York and Oklahoma City."  
  
"Did you see Defendant Mallory?" asked Kelly.  
  
"Yes, he was in street clothes. He asked me and Wade and Stephanie about oiur organization."  
  
"And when did you see the real Colin Mallory?"  
  
"Objection," I blurted.  
  
"Sit down," said Judge Wapner.  
  
"I saw him a couple minutes later. He was in a suit. I thought he was a twin brother or something."  
  
"No further questions, your Honor."  
  
I got up so I could apporach Miss Nassau. One of the marshals foribley restrained me.  
  
"your Honor," I said, "I need to cross-examine the witness."  
  
"You are on trial for crimea against the Aryan race," said Wapner. "you have no rights."  
  
"I spoke with the defendant here," said Alexander Hunt. "I believed he was the agent I served with for years. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Agent Mallory showed up. He sasid he was tied in traffic."  
  
"How did you know which one was which, if they looked alike?" asked Kelly.  
  
"Agent Mallory told me the date he turned in his parents to ther BATF."  
  
"I saw them both," said Director Jim Moore.  
  
"the defendant cursed the Aryan race, saying that he hopes the Jews enslave us," said Eugene Rightmeyer.  
  
And then, my duplicate testified. He took the oath.  
  
"I served in the BATF for six years," said local Colin. "I was trained in criminal investigation and interrogation methods."  
  
"And how did you meet the defendant?" asked Kelly.  
  
"I was going to the Good Old Boys' Roundup. My supervisor, Deputy Director Hunt, told me that Director Moore was going to commend me for my hard work leading to the capture of Michael Hurley and Maggie Beckett. There was traffic on the freeway, so I got there later than expected. When I arrived, Mr. Hunt was surprised. he told me he saw someone who looked like me, and who pretended to be me. We found him attending a speech by David Dahlman, and we arrested him. We found out that his fingerprints and DNA match my own.  
  
I interrogated him using electroshock, which produces the truth. At first, he claimed he was from another dimension similar to our own. But then, the truth came out. He was a clone created by a shadow organization controlled by Jews. The Jews plant to replace our country's leadership with clones, and thus rule the world."  
  
Everyone in the courtroom gasped at the implication.  
  
"No further questions," said Kelly. My duplicate stepped down.  
  
"Colin Mallory, I find your guilty of crimes against the Aryan race," said Judge Wapner. "The sentence is death. You will be transferred to the Presidio concentration camp, awaiting execution."  
  
Then he banged the gavel. 


	10. The Presidio

I was taken to the Presidio Concentration Camp the day after the trial. It was early in the morning when some U.S. marshals entered my cell in the San Francisco Federal Jail and hauled me off before I had a chance to eat breakfast. I was put on this big old bus with the words "Bureau of Prisons" stenciled on the side. After taking my seat with some of the other prisoners, the bus driver started the bus and it moved out of the jail through the streets of San Francisco.   
  
I watched as the bus drove through the streets, going up and down the slopes. We then passed through some parkland, which I figured was the Golden Gate Park. The bus finally came to a stop and the engine was turned off.  
  
From the window, I can see the site of the concentration camp. The whole place was surrounded by a chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire. Guards armed with rifles stood at towers placed along the fence. I can see a big stone building, which I figured was the administration building. And there were some wooden shacks, where the prisoners would live.   
  
A guard from the camp went obn board the bus, and summoned us out of here. I stepped off the bus and looked towards the camp where I would be staying for at least two days, according to my watch. I notived a sign attached to the fence. It read,   
  
"INMATE ARRIVALS  
  
PRESIDIO CONCENTRATION CAMP  
  
BUREAU OF PRISONS  
  
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE"  
  
We went through the gate and then walked along a passage to the administration building. Inside, there was a room, isolated from the rest of the building, where the prisoners would be processed. I had to stamp my fingerprints on a pad, and then I had my picture taken. I was also given a gray jumpsuit. Then a guard took me into the prisoner area.   
  
I noticed the concentration camp had both men and women, same as on the bus. Many of the prisoners were emaciated, as if they had little to eat. Most of the inmates were white, with a few Negroes among them.   
  
It was my nose that was paying the most attention. There was this evil stench about the place.   
  
The guard took me to some dilapidated shack.  
  
"This is your dormitory," the guard said to me.   
  
"If I am to be executed, I'd think I'd be put in a more secure cell," I said.  
  
"Everyone here is under a death sentence," the guard smirked. "The penalty for treason against the Aryan race is death."  
  
I looked inside the dormitory, though I nor one of my friends would never mistake this for the living quarters of college students. The strucuture was made of wood, some of it rotted. There are gaps between the wood panels that make up the walls. There is no electric wiring in this building. In fact, there was no furniture, not even beds to sleep in. All of the inmates had to sleep on the dirt floor. There was a general feeling of despair among the inmates.   
  
"Uh, hi," I said. "My name is Colin. How are you doing?"  
  
No one wanted to talk.   
  
I was sitting in the wooden shack for a few hours when I heard a horn sound.   
  
"What's that?" I asked.  
  
"Chow horn," said one of the men.  
  
We all went out. I followed some of the other inmates, hoping they would lead me to the mess hall.   
  
The inmates from my shack as well as the other shacks all stood in an open area. Guards stood by, wielding iron truncheons.   
  
Then I saw an armored vehicle back up into the spot where the inmates gathered. Suddenly, it spilled something onto the dirt.  
  
soim eof the inmates picked through this. I looked. I could see bits of oatmeal, the cores of some apples, bread rolls, as well as nonedible trash.  
  
I was angry. On the world I grew up in, prisoners in the U.S. were never subjected to such inhumane, barbaric treatment during my lifetime. What was happenign here was wrong.  
  
"Hey!" I shouted. "What's this? This isn't a meal."  
  
"hey boy," someone said. "you got a problem."  
  
"Yeah. We are entitled to be served clean, hot meals. We want beds to sleep in!"  
  
"And I bet you want cable TV too," he said, whom I recognize as a guard.   
  
Then I felkt a sharp pain on my face and I fell to the ground. That bastard just hit me with his truncheon! He proceeded to whack me a few more times on the chest and abdomen.  
  
"Listen, traitor," he said. "People who turn against the Aryan race are lower than life!" He kicked me int he stomasch, sending pain straight up my spine. "I think it's time for your punishment."  
  
"You're gonna kill me?"  
  
"Not until your appointed time."  
  
As I was dragged away, I saw a bunch of naked people in a line. They were entering some brick building with huge smokestacks, like one of the blast furnaces for smelting iron. Smoke bellowed out from the stacks. A chill went through my body. I just realized that the stench of this place was the stench of burning flesh. That building is where they were executed.  
  
I wondered why none of them tried to escape anf then I saw the guards with rifles stationed just yards away, and I knew that the first fist raised in defiance would be answered with a hail of bullets.   
  
I was taken to this room in the administration building. I was stripped and then hung from the ceiling with a rough hemp rope. I was hung high enough that my legs were dangling.   
  
I could hear screams coming from the next room, or maybe across the hall.  
  
"Those guys must be having a fun time with that traitor bitch," said one of the guards.  
  
"I hope I get my turn. But I'll have to warm up with this guy."  
  
then I felt something sting my back. and again. And again. I was being whipped.   
  
Each lash sent pain up my spine. I could hear the guards laughing as they whipped me. Every time the lash hit me, I thought it would never end.  
  
Finally, it did end, and I was clothed again and taken back to my shack.  
  
I lay down, my skin still in pain from all the lashes of the whips. Some of my shackmates were gathering around me.   
  
I prayed to God, wondering if He had abandoned me to this place. I had never expereienced a horror such as the Presidio, even after a year of sliding. Quinn never told me of haviong to go through such horrors as I endured my first day here. I looked at my watch, and it still has two days left before the next slide, assuming it was working fine. But what if I was executed before then. Or what if whatever allowed me to slide without any external devices was gone, leaving me stranded behind these barbed wire fences.   
  
"Oh Lord," I said. "Please don't leave me here."  
  
"You think God is going to help you?" said one of the men. "God has abandoned us, abandoned this country. That is why this Aryan regime has free reign. God has turned His back on us, and America was turned into Hell."  
  
The man's words did have a ring of truth. What if God did abandon me here? Was I condemned to spend eternity in this Hell?  
  
Suddenly, I noticed someone was shoved into a room. The guard who shoved the person in had a wide smirk on his face, a devilish grin.  
  
I looked at the person who just entered. I noticed she was a woman. The shirt of her prison suit was unbuttoned, and she was not wearing any trousers.  
  
I looked at her face, a familiar face.  
  
"Maggie," I said. "What have they done to you?"  
  
I wondered if Maggie and the rest slid here too. Where was Quinn and Remmy? Then I figured this must be the native Maggie Beckett.  
  
"How do you know her?" asked one of the men.   
  
"I"m a traveler," I said. "I spend most of my time traveling around California. My name is Colin Mallory."  
  
"Michael Hurley," replied the man. "Since I'm condemned to death, I might as well tell you that I'm in the resistance. I was captured three days ago. Two days ago I was sent here, waiting for death."  
  
"Get away from me!" shouted Maggie. "Get away from me!"  
  
"What's wrong?' asked Michael Hurley.  
  
"He was the one who captured us. He interrogated me. He...He..."  
  
"She must have broken down," said one of the women. "The guards must have been rough on her."  
  
Maybe she did suffer a mental breakdown after being tortured and God knows what else. But then again, my sadistic counterpart might have interrogated her, and might have been liberal in his methods.  
  
Then I began thinking. Maybe god did not guide me here just to suffer. Maybe I could help out. I mean, in some of the wolrds I had visited I had helped out those in need.   
  
This country was under the iron grip of an evil regime. I think I am here to loosen that grip.  
  
After night had fallen, a guard entered the shack. He looked upon one of the women.  
  
"Come with me," he said. "We need some company."  
  
I could see the fear in her eyes. She was younger than me, maybe twenty-one or twenty-two. I stood up and walked to him.  
  
"What if she doesn't want to?" I asked.  
  
"I want her, so I'm gonna have her."  
  
And then I made my move.  
  
He had this awful grimace in his face. He felt something, a piece of wood. A piece of wood stuck to his neck. A piece of wood from the wall that I had sharpened, which would be strong enough to be used as a thrusting dagger.   
  
I removed the wood and the guard slowly bled to death.   
  
"What did you do?" yelled Michael Hurley as he saw what I had done. "they're gonna kill us!"  
  
"Did you see those people who went into that brick building yesterday?" I asked. "Did they kill any of the guards?"  
  
Hurley did not say a word.  
  
"Listen,." I said. "We are all condemned to die. Our only chance to survive is to resist. We may be killed if we resist. But we will be exterminated if we do nothing! Even if all of us get killed resisting, if we can take out just one more guard, then it's worth it!"  
  
"He's right," I heard someone say. I looked, and saw Maggie Beckett get up. "I'm not going to march into that death furnace." 


	11. Uprising

We placed the guard's body out of the way, in case an unexpected patrol passes by the shack. We discussed our situation, scribbling on the dirt floor.  
  
"Let's see," said a Negro man scrawling a rough outlay of the camp on the dirt. "There are towers in the corners of the camp. The guards are armed with machine guns. The guards who patrol the inmate areas only have iron truncheons. Each of the guard towers have huge spotlights. We need to take out the spotlights. I noticed an electrical circuit breaker on the side of the administration building. If we smash the circuit breaker, we could knock out the lights."  
  
"What about emergency power?" asked a woman.  
  
"I think the spotlights don't run on emergency power," asaid another man.  
  
"At this time," said Michael Hurley, "There are about twenty or so guards in the facility, including the ones manning the towers. There is a U.S. Army base nearby, and the guards might call for reinforcements from the Army. We need to cut off phone lines and emetgecny radio."  
  
"I think it's routed near the circuit breaker," said the Negro. "If we take out the circuit breaker, we can cut off communications."  
  
"We'd better move fast," I said. "The others will want to find out what happened to our friend here."  
  
"If we just stay here, we'll end up in that death furnace," said Maggie.  
  
After we made our escape plans, a few of us weent out to execute them. I stalked through the wooden shacks, trying to avoid the spotlights. Within minutes, I reached the tool shed. I went into the wooden shed and got myself a shovel. Then I sneaked across the camp, until I was just a few yards away from the administration building, with its heavily guarded entrance. I went around the side and I found the circuit breaker, lockesd with a rusty old padlock.  
  
I used the shovel to break open the lid. I saw the switches for various sections of the camp, as well as the main power switch.  
  
I flipped off the main power switch, and suyddenly the whole camp went dark. I then hit the circuit breaker with the shovel with all my strength.  
  
Sparks flew as this created a short circuit, even starting a fire. I thanked the Lord that I was not electrocuted.   
  
I wenty around the darkened camp. Guards were already pouring into the inmate area. The inmates were fighting back, and they seemed to be winning! I guess the guards were used to beating prisoners as they were tied up, and not used to them fighting back. I wielded the shovel as a huge club, whacking the guards in their heads.  
  
Then I heard machine gun fire. The guards at the towers were firing the machine guns to put down this uprising.   
  
I rushed right into the administration building, huge shovel in hand. I started swinging this thing like crazy, which was very effective, since I had a longer reach than the guards' truncheons and since there was no room in these narrow hallways for the guards to dodge the shovel. I went into an office and pikced up the phone.  
  
There was no dial tone. The phones were out, which meant that they could not call the police or the Army for backup.   
  
"Come on!" shouted Maggie. "We have to find the bus!"  
  
So the two of us headed out. We went to the parking lot where the Bureau of Prisons transport buses were stored. Maggie used a crowbar to jimmy one of the doors open, and then she and I went inside the bus. She hotwired the bus, starting its diesel engine and then put it into gear.  
  
She drove right rhough the chain-link fence and into the inmate area. The prisoners all went towards the bus, some firing machine guns which I guess they acquired from the guards in the towers. Over three dozen packed the bush. Then Maggie stepped on the gas, tearing through the wooden shacks and then the chain link fence. We were soon out of the Presidio and on the San Francisco city streets. Wtihin twenty minutes after boarding the bus, we were heading south on the Bayshore Freeway.  
  
Over an hour later, Maggie parked the bus on a side road off the 101, just south of Gilroy.   
  
"We can't sneak across the border to Mexico in a huge prison transport bus," she said. "We'll need to appropraite some transportation."  
  
"You're part of a resitance movement, right?" I asked. "Can you contact them?"  
  
"Everyone in my cell is either dead or in a camp, aside from those of us in this bus," she replied. "The only way we communicate is by sending music CD's by mail. They contain hidden encrypted messages within."  
  
"There's a car dealership in Salinas, just south of here," said Michael Hurley. "There should be enough cars for us."  
  
"Why did you join the resistance?" I asked Maggie.   
  
"The Aryan Revolution destroyed the freedoms this country was founded on," she said. "George Washington gave his life so we can be free."  
  
"Who?" I asked.  
  
"General George Washington. He was the commander of the American Revolutionary Army during the first Revolution. He was killed in the Battle of New York, but the American victory there dealt a crippling blow to the British, allowing this country to gain its independence.  
  
"Now, government historians claim that Washington was betrayed by the Jews, and that Jews had been seeking to undermine freedom in this country. But it wasn't Jews who destroyed freedom in this country; it was the Aryans."  
  
I looked at my watch. Tomorrow, I slide out.  
  
"I was glad I was able to help out," I said.   
  
After an hour or so, Maggie started the bus and headed south.   
  
I spent the next day hiding out in a forest on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Hours ago, I and the other escaped inmates looted a 7-Eleven in Salinas for food and stuff, as well as cigarettes. We then borrowed some cars from a Volkswagen dealership nearby.  
  
I told Maggie and the others about me, and the truth about me.  
  
"That's an interesting story, Colin," said Maggie. "So you;'ve been to worlds where this Aryna Revolution did not take place in thius country."  
  
"That's right," I said. "There are better places than this, and hopefully tomorrow morning I will end up in such a better place"  
  
"Well, I think I'm gonna stay here," said Maggie.  
  
"Are you crazy?" asked one of the escapees. "We should head south into Mexico. We can make our way to Argentina from there."  
  
"George Washington did not run away in the face of tyranny," said Maggie. "He and his fellow Revolutionaries chose to make their home a better place. That's what I'll do, and I hope you will join me to make this world a better place."  
  
"I'm coming along too," said Michael Hurley.   
  
"I'd join you, if I had a choice," I said.  
  
The next day, I awoke in a motel somewhere in Utah. It was some cheap place where cash was sufficient asnd the owners asked no questions. I even got myself some cereal and Minute Maid orange juice from some liquor store.  
  
"It's time for me to go," I said. I showed them my watch.  
  
Maggie kissed me on the cheek. "Goodbye, Colin."  
  
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.  
  
then I felt as if I was falling.  
  
I found myself inside a warehouse of some sort, with boxes containing electronic equipment. I recognized boxes with Sony and Toshiba and Mangavox equipment, and there were a few names I didn't recognize. There were already people working there, so I decided to stay hidden as I made my exit.  
  
I went to a door and went outside. It opened into an alley where there was a lot of junk. I went out into the street.  
  
I was an an industrial area, with no landmarks that could tell me what city I was in. I checked my watch, I had sixty hours.  
  
I knew what I had to do. I had to go to a library, find out what I can about this world, and then find someone who can help me. I looked up, and I hoped that I can reunite with my brother and friends soon.  
  
NOT THE END 


End file.
